Introduction
The degree to which technology has become a part of everyday life and day-to-day commerce has prompted a change in the way business approaches how they manage the finances, the processes and the systems within an organisation.
As technology becomes more widely used within an organisation and takes a more prominent vital within the vital functions of that organisation, it is necessary to make sure that an appropriate amount of attention is given to this computing. Technological systems that may have previously been overlooked are now important elements in the decision making process.
IT departments have come a long way over the past few years and are now seen as essential parts of any organisation. As such, they receive larger budgets but must also be able to deal with a greater amount of work.
But once you have spent a large amount of your budget on developing an IT infrastructure and seen the circumstances of your organisation change, how do you make sure that the technology you are using can keep up with demand?
This is the role undertaken by IT management software and systems.
Every business and every environment will have different requirements and will offer different challenges. To meet these requirements there are a number of different technologies and approaches that can be implemented to help control the IT assets of your company.One of these approaches is discussed below.
Software Asset Management
Software Asset Management (SAM) is designed to do exactly what it says on the tin – monitoring and controlling the deployment and usage of software suites within your company. It is a business process rather than a distinct area of expertise and is becoming a more critical part of the modern corporate environment, particularly for companies operating in the field of Information Technology.
SAM is not simply an aid for support staff installing software across a large company network, but can be a critical tool to help improve performance at multiple levels of a business. The aims of SAM include managing of the IT infrastructure within a company, negating legal threats associated with incorrect software license usage and preserving high levels of productivity by making sure software is up to date and fit for its purpose. As IT usage in a company grows, so do the potential benefits of SAM.
The practice of SAM is often thought of as an unnecessary evil due to the abstract nature of what it is designed to deal with, and the financial case for using a SAM solution is not always obvious until a complete of the software infrastructure of a company has been undertaken. Once existing problems have been identified however, the use of SAM becomes self evident.
Monetary benefits remain the most motivating business factor when deciding to operate software asset management software within a business. Every company needs to make money after all and expenditure is a very measurable metric.
An increasingly large percentage of a business’ IT budget is spent on software licensing so there is a real need to invest to correctly monitor this spending. As companies expand and spread, their software needs can change radically and hardware and programs can quickly become outdated. There is no need to spend money to maintain the licenses on this outdated software, which is where software asset management really delivers an advantage.
SAM is not restricted to simply the technology of your company either. As a management operation it will often involve many of the departments within a business, including Finance Human Resources, to ensure that it runs as efficiently as possible. It is a process that does not need to follow standard.
Anybody who was going to challenge Centennial resellers which product stands out would get the simple answer SAM.
Why follow a SAM Strategy?
Having heard the many benefits of employing a SAM solution, how do you know that it would be correct for your organisation? Each company is different and has its own separate set of challenges and benefits, so any strategy you will use needs to be catered to these specific characteristics. The benefits of software asset management do cover the fundamental aspects of IT management.
There are more than just monetary advantages that can be achieved through the management of licensing and maintenance agreements across a businesses IT system. Productivity can be vastly by ensuring that users have the latest editions of software available under current licenses held, and communication within the business is helped when support staff know exactly what is installed on every computer under their control. The benefits of SAM are not confined to the technological hardware of your organisation.
Cost Savings
As discussed before, perhaps the most convincing reason to utilise software asset management within your business is the potential cost savings that can be made. The profitability of your company is always going to be the bottom line so any system that can help to increase this profitability by lowering costs is one that should be evaluated.
The most direct way that SAM can help to reduce costs is by targeting any software running on your corporate IT system 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.
By clearing these items of software that are no longer a help to the operation of your business you are streamlining a large chunk of your IT system. Paying for unnecessary software licenses and maintenance agreements means that more finance can be spent on the critical sections 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 amount of software that is actively used in the business environment is either licensed incorrectly or not licensed at all. Running any amount of uncontrolled software on your IT network is not advised, because when left unchecked it can become very unpredictable. This is becoming an increasingly frustrating factor for IT managers.
Rogue software applications can be introduced into an unmonitored IT environment in a number of ways. Software may have been included when your IT hardware was originally purchased although the original software licenses may have expired. Without the correct control policies in place, users may also be able to install their own software onto the network.
The danger 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 manage the situation? Operating a complicated software system without the correct support can create a metaphorical minefield when it comes to disaster recovery and can critically limit your responsiveness to unpredictable events.
Many businesses have reported increases in efficiency since Centennial consultants planned alongside their current IT support staff.
Implementing SAM in your Organisation
As previously discussed, there are many potential advantages to employing a good software asset management strategy within your business, both financial and otherwise. It is vitally important to determine which branches of software asset management you should implement first since some benefits will be realised more quickly than others.
The discovery process can be seen as three fundamental stages that have to be performed to truly develop an informative picture of the usage of software assets within your organisation. These are:
Inventory
Inventory is the most fundamental stage of the discovery cycle. It is important that an accurate inventory of software assets within your organisation is created to aid your IT managers to maintain baselines regarding your IT network.
Thankfully, this process can now be made automatic and even the grandest of infrastructures can be searched and analysed in a reasonably short period. Inventory should be able to identify your IT assets regardless of their geographical location or technological characteristics.
Capture
The second step in the discovery cycle is the capture of the software license entitlements that manage the software programs discovered in the inventory. The capture stage should collect entitlements for all of the software that exists on your system, even if the software is not currently in use. Without this information the inventory would be almost useless.
The risk of human error can be avoided by using automatic tools that are specifically designed to build a library of license entitlements. Packages that are currently employed are very efficient at capturing accurate data. These tools will also maintain databases containing up to date information from IT vendors.
Identification & Validation
The third step is to match up the software audit to the repository of licensing data 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 network.
One critical factor in the validation stage is the ability to combine the license entitlements within your system to your organisation’s proof of entitlement. This will be essential if any disputes with software resellers arise as a consequence of the discovery process. You want to be as informed as possible in these circumstances.
After these three steps have been undertaken you will have built an incredibly detailed image of how your IT system is serving software programs to its users. It will be much simpler to identify any trouble spots on your network, or sections of software usage that are no longer of any practical benefit to your operations. This detailed picture can be used for future strategies as well.
You can now start a period of reconciliation upon your system. You should compare the software packages that are actually employed on your system against the licensing and support entitlements 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 involved with the licensing contracts you have in place. It is therefore essential to automate the reconciliation process, utilising one or more programs to apply smart rules to the process. These rules can be catered to the specific needs of your organisation.
More information about utilising software asset management in your organisation can be found through a Centennial reseller or researching on the Internet.
Compliancy and Flexibility with SAM
Many of the fundamental principles of a successful software asset management strategy are based upon the concepts set out in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, or ITIL. This library defines a number of concepts and best practices that should be adopted for successful control of IT operations. The ITIL can be found online.
This library is a dynamic entity and is often updated with new concepts and techniques that reflect the constantly changing IT backdrop of modern business. A good SAM strategy should be flexible enough to comply with the guidelines laid out in the ITIL whilst meeting the changing requirements of the business within which it is actively used. This is an essential requirement of effective software asset management
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 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 adhered to when planning a software asset management strategy for your own business, although the level of detail covered within can quickly become a daunting prospect. It is vital to remember that no matter what recommendations you follow when creating a SAM strategy, whatever you decide to employ needs to aid your organisation rather than stifle it.
Designing a complete and comprehensive SAM strategy for your own business may actually never come to fruition. Your plan must be flexible to change and grow as your business does, and it must allow for updates to your daily tasks, no matter how small or fundamental they might be.
Conclusion
It is clear to see that as the extent and importance of IT systems within your company grow, so does the need for correct and efficient monitoring of these systems. Gone are the times when an IT branch was a bonus that would sometimes forward the business. IT systems are now critical to the modern organisation. Critical systems need to be monitored to an appropriate standard.
As with other parts of any organisation, a number of separate strategies should be considered and used in order to ensure the efficient running of daily activities. software asset management should not be the only tactic used to manage computing assets within your company, but rather one of a number of complimentary techniques used to control the system as a unit. SAM can go a long way toward helping your company but should be helped by other techniques.
So if you feel that your company is currently suffering from a lack of structured monitoring and management over its IT network, or that the possible benefits outlined in this article could provide a critical market advantage over your competitors, then it would be well worth researching how SAM could be employed within your company. There may be no time to lose.
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