Introduction
The extent to which technology has become a part of normal life and everyday business has prompted a change in the way management approaches how they manage the money, the processes and the assets within an organisation. IT is fast becoming an increasing factor in business.
As technology becomes more widely used within an organisation and takes a more prominent role within the vital processes of that organisation, it is necessary to make sure that an appropriate level of attention is given to this computing. Technological assets that may have once been overlooked are now key in the decision making process.
IT departments have come a long way over the past few years and are now seen as vital parts of any organisation. As such, they are allocated larger budgets but must also be able to handle a larger amount of work.
But after you have spent a large amount of your budget on developing an IT network and seen the circumstances of your company change, how do you make sure that the technology you are using can keep up with demand? Moreover, how can you achieve this without spending a large amount of money?
This is the function by IT management software and systems.
Every organisation and every environment will have different specifications and will present different issues. To satisfy these needs there are a range of different technologies and approaches that can be used to help control the IT network of your business.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 maintaining the deployment and usage of software programs within your company. It is a business process rather than a distinct discipline and is becoming a more critical part of the modern corporate environment, particularly for corporations 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 crucial tool to help improve performance at all levels of a company. The objectives of SAM include managing of the IT infrastructure within a organisation, negating legal threats associated with incorrect software license usage and sustaining high levels of productivity by making sure software is up to date and fit for its purpose.
The practice of SAM is often thought of as an unnecessary evil due to the intangible nature of what it is designed to deal with, and the financial case for going with a SAM solution is not always obvious until a complete of the software infrastructure of a company has been carried out.
Economic benefits remain the most motivating commercial factor when deciding to employ SAM software within a company. Every corporation needs to make money after all and revenue is a very measurable metric. The financial benefits of software asset management do certainly exist however.
An increasingly large amount of a company’s IT budget is spent on software licensing so there is a real need to invest to correctly manage this spending. As companies grow and diversify, their software needs can change greatly 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 SAM really delivers an advantage.
SAM is not restricted to simply the IT department of your business either. As a management operation it will often include many of the departments within a organisation, including Finance Human Resources, to ensure that it runs as cost-effectively as possible. It is a process that does not need to follow standard.
Anybody who was going to challenge Centennial resellers what product stands out would get the simple answer software asset managment.
Why follow a SAM Strategy?
Having seen the many advantages of employing a software asset management solution, how do you know that it would be appropriate for your organisation? Each business is different and has its own separate set of challenges and benefits, so any plan you will undertake needs to be tailored to these specific characteristics.
There are more than simply monetary advantages that can be achieved through the management of licensing and maintenance agreements across an organisations IT network. Productivity can be greatly by ensuring that users have the newest editions of software available under current licenses held, and communication within the business is aided when support staff know exactly what is deployed on every computer under their control. The benefits of software asset management are not confined to the technological hardware of your business.
Cost Savings
As discussed previously, perhaps the most persuading reason to utilise software asset management within your business is the potential financial savings that can be achieved. The profitability of your company is always going to be the bottom line so any system that can help to increase this profitability by descreasing expenses is one that should be evaluated.
The most direct way that software asset management can help to reduce costs is by identifying any software running on your corporate network that is no longer needed. 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. software asset management can help to remove this unnecessary overhead.
By removing these items of software that are no longer a benefit to the operation of your company you are streamlining a large chunk of your IT system. Paying for unnecessary software licenses and maintenance contracts means that more finance can be spent on the critical parts of your IT system.
Mitigate Risk Factors
A surprising percentage of software that is currently used in the business environment is either licensed incorrectly or not licensed at all. Having any amount of unmonitored software on your IT system is ill advised, because when left unchecked it can become very unpredictable. This is becoming an increasingly annoying factor for network managers.
Rogue software applications can be introduced into an uncontrolled IT system in a number of ways. Software may have been bundled when your IT hardware was originally bought although the original software licenses may have expired. Without the correct control policies in place, users may also be able to load their own software onto the network. 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 something goes wrong with the hardware or software platform supporting your critical processes, how do you recover the situation? Running a complex software system without the proper support can create a metaphorical minefield when it comes to disaster recovery and can seriously inhibit your responsiveness to unforeseen events.
Of the many products and services available from any national Centennial distributor software asset management is just one solution that can be utilised.
Implementing Software Asset Management in your Organisation
As previously mentioned, there are many potential advantages to utilising a good SAM strategy within your company, both financial and otherwise. It is vitally important to consider which branches of software asset management you should deploy first since some benefits will be realised more quickly than others.
This discovery process can be viewed as three fundamental areas that have to be performed to truly build an informative picture of the usage of software assets within your company. These are:
Inventory
Inventory is the most fundamental function of the discovery process. It is crucial that an accurate audit of software assets within your business is created to aid your IT managers to maintain baselines for your IT network. This inventory process must be performed before carrying on with discovery.
Fortunately, this process can now be made automatic and even the grandest of networks can be investigated and analysed in a relatively short period of time. Inventory must be able to identify your software assets regardless of their physical location or computing characteristics.
Capture
The next step in the discovery process involves the capture of the software license entitlements that cover the software programs identified in the inventory. The capture process should collect entitlements for all of the software that exists on your network, even if the software is not currently in use.
The risk of human error can be mitigated by using automated tools that are specifically designed to create a library of license entitlements. Tools that are currently employed are very efficient at capturing accurate information. These tools will also maintain databases containing up to date information from IT vendors.
Identification & Validation
The next process is to match up the software inventory to the repository of licensing information that were created in the previous two stages. Errors may have been made anywhere from the original invoices for software to the latest audits undertaken on your IT network. These errors can now be rectified.
One critical factor in the validation stage is the ability to combine the license entitlements within your network to your organisation’s proof of entitlement. This will be vital if any arguments with software vendors arise as a consequence of the discovery process.
Once these steps have been performed you will have built an incredibly detailed picture of how your IT system is delivering software packages to its users. It will be much easier to identify any trouble spots on your system, or sections of software use that are no longer of any particular benefit to your activites. This detailed map can be used for future strategies as well.
You can now commence a period of reconciliation upon your system. You can compare the software packages that are actually installed on your network against the licensing and support contracts that you are paying for and close any gaps between the two.
The software distribution within your system may include many hundreds or perhaps thousands of individual installations, and there are any number of restrictions that may be associated with the licensing agreements you have in place. It is therefore essential to automate the reconciliation period, utilising one or more tools to apply smart rules to the process.
To see how software asset management can directly help your organisation use an available Centennial consultant that can plan a software asset management strategy suited to your needs.
Compliancy and Flexibility with SAM
Many of the basic practices of a modern SAM strategy are based upon the principles laid out in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, or ITIL. This library details a number of principles and best practices that should be adopted for successful management of IT operations.
This library is a dynamic entity and is often updated with new ideas and policies that cater to the constantly changing IT backdrop of modern business. A good software asset management strategy should be fluid enough to comply with the guidelines laid out in the ITIL whilst matching 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 exceptionally comprehensive set of suggestions that are built to ensure that SAM is utilised in such a way as to “satisfy corporate governance requirements”. Standards of this kind play an essential part in achieving standardisation across an industry.
The ISO standard should certainly be followed when designing a software asset management strategy for your own organisation, although the level of detail included within can quickly become a daunting prospect. It is important to remember that no matter what recommendations you follow when designing a software asset management strategy, whatever you decide to employ must help your business rather than stifle it. Industry standards cannot simply be copied when it comes to applying them within your organisation.
Designing a full and comprehensive software asset management strategy for your own company might actually never come to fruition. Your plan must be flexible enough to change and mature as your business does, and it must allow for updates to your daily activities, no matter how trivial or underlying they might be. This really is the key to a worthwhile software asset management plan.
Conclusion
It is clear to see that as the extent and importance of computer systems within your company grow, so does the requirement for correct and effective monitoring of these systems. Gone are the times when an IT branch was a luxury that would sometimes forward the business. Computer networks are now vital to the modern organisation. Critical systems need to be monitored to an appropriate level.
As with other parts of any company, a number of separate plans should be evaluated and used in order to ensure the efficient running of day to day tasks. software asset management should not be the only tactic used to manage technological resources within your company, but rather one of a number of complimentary techniques used to control the system as a whole. software asset management can go a long way toward aiding your business but should be supported by other techniques.
So if you think that your organisation is currently suffering from a lack of structured monitoring and control over its IT infrastructure, or that the possible advantages outlined in this article could provide a critical market advantage over your competitors, then it would be well worth investigating how SAM could be employed within your organisation. There might be no time to lose.