Introduction
The degree to which computing has become a part of normal life and everyday commerce has forced a change in the way business approaches how they manage the finances, the tasks and the assets within an organisation. IT is fast becoming an increasing factor in business.
As technology becomes more widespread within a business and takes a more prominent role within the vital processes of that business, it is necessary to make sure that an appropriate amount of attention is given to this computing.
IT capabilities have come a long way over the past few years and are now seen as essential elements of any business. As such, they receive greater budgets but must also be able to deal with a greater amount of responsibility. There is an eternal race between corporate demands and IT capabilities.
But after you have spent a large amount of money on developing your IT infrastructure and seen the needs of your business change, how do you make sure that the IT you are using can keep up with demand? Moreover, how can you achieve this without spending a prohibitive amount of money?
This is the function by IT management software and systems.
Every organisation and every situation will have different requirements and will create unique challenges. To satisfy these requirements there are a number of different technologies and approaches that can be implemented to help manage the IT network of your company.One of these options is discussed below.
Software Asset Management
SAM ( Software Asset Management) is built to do exactly what it says on the tin - monitoring and controlling the deployment and usage of software programs within your organisation. It is a business process rather than a distinct skill and is becoming a more critical part of the modern commercial environment, particularly for companies operating in the field of IT.
SAM is not simply an aid for technicians deploying software across a large company network, but can be a critical tool to help improve performance at all levels of a organisation. The goals of SAM include controlling of the IT infrastructure within a business, negating legal risks associated with incorrect software license usage and maintaining high levels of productivity by making sure software is up to date and fit for its purpose.
The practice of software asset management is often viewed as an unnecessary evil due to the intangible nature of what it is designed to deal with, and the financial case for employing a SAM solution is not always obvious until a full of the software infrastructure of a company has been carried out.
Economic benefits remain the most driving business factor when deciding to employ SAM software within an organisation. Every business needs to make money after all and revenue is a very measurable metric.
An increasingly large amount of a company’s IT bank roll is spent on software licensing so there is a real need to invest to correctly manage this spending. As businesses grow and diversify, their software requirements can change radically and hardware and programs can swiftly become outdated. There is no requirement to spend money to maintain the licenses on this outdated software, which is where software asset management really delivers an edge.
software asset management is not limited to simply the technology of your company either. As a management process it will often include many of the branches within a business, including Finance Human Resources, to make sure that it runs as efficiently as possible.
The many benefits of software asset management ensure Centennial resellers retain a healthy product portfolio they can supply to clients.
Why follow a SAM Strategy?
Having heard the many advantages of deploying a SAM solution, how do you know that it would be right for your business? Each company is different and has its own unique set of challenges and benefits, so any plan you will use needs to be catered to these specific traits. The benefits of SAM do cover the fundamental aspects of IT management.
There are more than simply monetary advantages that can be made through the control of licensing and maintenance agreements across a businesses IT system. Productivity can be hugely improved by ensuring that employees have the newest versions of software available under current licenses held, and communication inside the business is aided when support staff know exactly what is deployed on every computer under their control. The benefits of SAM are not confined to the technological hardware of your business.
Cost Savings
As discussed before, perhaps the most persuading reason to utilise SAM within your company is the potential financial savings that can be made. The profitability of your company is always going to be the bottom line so any strategy that can help to increase this profitability by lowering expenses is one that should be considered. Money can be saved in a number of ways.
The most direct way that SAM can help to lower costs is by targeting any software running on your corporate IT system that is no longer necessary. The software might not be being used any longer, it may be too outdated to be of use or it may be duplicated on your system.
By removing these items of software that are no longer a help to the running of your organisation you are streamlining a large portion of your IT system. Paying for unnecessary software licenses and support and maintenance contracts means that more money can be spent on the essential parts of your IT infrastructure. Focusing your finances on these vital components will improve the overall performance of your IT department.
Mitigate Risk Factors
A surprising proportion of software that is actively used in the corporate environment is either licensed incorrectly or not licensed at all. Having any amount of uncontrolled software on your IT network is ill advised, because when left unchecked it can become incredibly unpredictable.
Unlicensed software programs can be introduced into an uncontrolled IT system in a number of ways. Software may have been included when your IT hardware was first purchased although the original software licenses may have expired. Without the correct security policies in place, users may also be able to install their own software onto the system. Operating a corporate IT system in this unmanaged way will almost certainly lead to trouble.
The risk of running unlicensed software on your network is clear. When anything goes wrong with the hardware or software platform supporting your critical processes, how do you manage the situation? Running a complex software system without the appropriate support can create a metaphorical minefield when it comes to disaster recovery and can seriously limit your responsiveness to unpredictable events.
The business case for working with a part-time Centennial vendor during your IT review process has never been clearer.
Implementing SAM in your Organisation
As previously discussed, there are numerous potential advantages to utilising a good SAM strategy within your organisation, both monetary and otherwise. It is therefore important to consider which parts of SAM you should deploy first since some benefits will be realised more speedily than others. Some may take a period of years to be fully felt.
This discovery process can be seen as three primary phases that have to be undertaken to truly build an informative picture of the usage of IT assets within your business. These are:
Inventory
Inventory is the most fundamental stage of the discovery cycle. It is important that an accurate audit of software assets within your organisation is created to aid your IT managers to maintain baselines for your IT network. This inventory process must be performed before continuing with discovery.
Fortunately, this process can now be made automatic and even the largest of networks can be searched and analysed in a relatively short period. Inventory should be able to identify your IT assets regardless of their physical location or computing characteristics. Modern inventory processes are capable of this.
Capture
The next step in the discovery cycle is the capture of the software license entitlements that concern the software assets discovered in the inventory. The capture stage should collect entitlements regarding all of the software that is installed on your network, even if the software is not currently used.
The element of human error can be mitigated by using automatic tools that are specifically created to create a library of license entitlements. Packages that are currently employed are very efficient at capturing accurate information.
Identification & Validation
The next step is to match up the software audit to the repository of licensing information that were built in the previous two stages. Errors may have occurred anywhere from the original paperwork for software to the latest audits performed on your IT system.
One crucial factor in the validation step is the ability to link the license entitlements within your system to your organisation’s proof of entitlement. This will be vital if any disputes with software vendors arise as a consequence of the discovery process.
Once these steps have been performed you will have created an incredibly detailed image of how your IT system is delivering software packages to its users. It will be much easier to identify any trouble areas on your network, or sections of software use that are no longer of any practical benefit to your activites.
You can now begin a period of reconciliation on your network. You can compare the software programs that are actually installed on your network against the licensing and support contracts that you are paying for and bridge any gaps between the two. This is when the financial benefits of SAM start to take effect.
The software spread in your network may include many hundreds or perhaps thousands of individual installations, and there may be any number of restrictions that may be associated with the licensing contracts you have in place. It is therefore a necessity to automate the reconciliation stage, using one or more tools to apply intelligent rules to the process.
There is a growing respect in the computing industry for Centennial vendors since they can provide critical products for a modern business.
Compliancy and Flexibility with SAM
Many of the basic practices of a successful software asset management strategy are based upon the principles laid out in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, or ITIL. This library defines a number of ideas and best practices that should be adopted for successful control of IT functions.
This library is a changing entity and is often updated with new concepts and policies that reflect the constantly changing IT backdrop of modern business. A good SAM strategy should be flexible enough to comply with the guidelines set out in the ITIL whilst meeting the changing requirements of the company within which it is actively utilised.
The International Standard Organisation (ISO) has created a standard that applies directly to software asset management practices. This standard, ISO 19770-1, is an incredibly comprehensive collection of suggestions that are designed to ensure that SAM is utilised in such a way as to “satisfy corporate governance requirements”.
The ISO standard should really be followed when planning a SAM strategy for your own company, although the level of detail included within can quickly become a daunting prospect. It is vital to remember that no matter what guidelines you follow when creating a software asset management strategy, whatever plan you decide to implement must aid your organisation rather than stifle it.
Creating a complete and comprehensive software asset management strategy for your own company might actually never come to fruition. Your plan must be flexible to change and grow as your business does, and it should allow for updates to your daily tasks, no matter how trivial or underlying they might be. This really is the key to a successful software asset management plan.
Conclusion
It is clear to see that as the extent and importance of computer systems within your organisation grow, so does the requirement for good and efficient management of these systems. Gone are the days when an IT department was a luxury that would occasionally progress the business. Computer systems are now vital to the modern company.
As with other branches of any business, a number of different strategies should be considered and used in order to ensure the efficient running of day to day tasks. software asset management should not be the only tool used to manage computing resources within your organisation, but rather one of a multitude of complimentary policies used to manage the system as a unit.
So if you feel that your organisation is currently suffering from a lack of planned monitoring and control over its IT infrastructure, or that the potential advantages outlined in this article could provide a critical market edge over your competitors, then it would be worth researching how software asset management could be used within your business.
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