Introduction
The extent to which computing has become a part of everyday life and everyday business has seen a change in the way business approaches how they manage the finances, the tasks and the assets within a business.
As computing becomes more widespread within an organisation and takes a more prominent critical within the critical functions of that organisation, it is important to make sure that an appropriate amount of attention is applied to this computing.
IT capabilities have come a long way over the past few years and are now seen as essential parts of any company. As such, they are allocated grander budgets but must also be able to handle 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 an IT infrastructure and seen the circumstances of your organisation change, how do you make sure that the IT you are using can keep up with demand?
This is the role undertaken by IT management software and procedures.
Every organisation and every environment will have different requirements and will create unique issues. To satisfy these needs there are a number of different solutions and approaches that can be implemented to help control the IT network of your business.One of these approaches is discussed below.
Software Asset Management
SAM ( Software Asset Management) is built to do exactly what it says on the tin – monitoring and managing the deployment and usage of software suites within your business. It is a business process rather than a distinct area of expertise and is becoming a more essential part of the modern corporate environment, particularly for corporations operating in the field of Information Technology.
SAM is not simply an aid for support staff rolling out software across a large company network, but can be a crucial tool to help improve performance at many levels of a company. The objectives of SAM include controlling of the IT infrastructure within a organisation, negating legal threats 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 SAM is often viewed as an unnecessary evil due to the abstract nature of what it is designed to deal with, and the business case for using a SAM solution is not always obvious until a broad inspection of the software infrastructure of a company has been done.
Economic benefits are still the most driving business factor when deciding to operate software asset management software within a company. Every company needs to make money after all and revenue is a very measurable figure.
An increasingly large amount of a organisation’s IT budget is spent on software licensing so there is a vital need to invest to correctly manage this spending. As companies expand and diversify, their software requirements can change greatly and equipment and programs can quickly 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 company either. As a management cycle it will often involve many of the branches within a organisation, including Finance Human Resources, to ensure that it runs as efficiently as possible. It is a process that does not need to follow standard.
The many benefits of SAM ensure Centennial resellers maintain a healthy product portfolio they can supply to clients.
Why follow a SAM Strategy?
Having seen the multiple benefits of deploying a software asset management solution, how do you know that it would be right for your company? Each company is different and has its own separate set of challenges and advantages, so any strategy you will undertake needs to be catered to these specific characteristics. 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 management of licensing and maintenance agreements across an organisations IT system. Productivity can be hugely improved by ensuring that employees have the latest versions of software available under current licenses held, and communication inside the company is helped when support staff know exactly what is in use on every workstation under their control.
Financial Savings
As discussed previously, perhaps the most persuading reason to implement software asset management within your company 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 descreasing expenses is one that should be evaluated. Money can be saved in a multitude of ways.
The most immediate way that software asset management can help to reduce costs is by targeting any software running on your corporate IT system that is no longer necessary. The software might not be being used anymore, it may be too outdated to be of use or it may be duplicated on your system. SAM can be used to remove this unnecessary overhead.
By removing these items of software that are no longer a benefit to the operation of your business you are streamlining a large portion of your IT infrastructure. Paying for unnecessary software licenses and support and maintenance agreements means that more finance can be spent on the critical parts of your IT system.
Mitigate Risk Factors
A surprising proportion of software that is actively used in the business 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. This is becoming an increasingly frustrating factor for network managers.
Unlicensed software applications can be introduced into an unmonitored IT system in a number of ways. Software may have been bundled when your IT hardware was originally purchased although the initial 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.
The risk of running unlicensed software on your network is clear. When anything goes wrong with the hardware or software platform supporting your vital processes, how do you handle the situation? Running a complicated software system without the correct support can create a metaphorical minefield when it comes to disaster recovery and can critically inhibit your responsiveness to unpredictable events. The cost of recovery will forever outweigh the cost of prevention when it comes to IT systems.
If your company undertakes an IT system overhaul, a qualified Centennial distributor must be top of your first ports of call.
Implementing Software Asset Management in your Organisation
As previously discussed, there are numerous potential benefits to employing a good SAM strategy within your organisation, both monetary and otherwise. It is therefore important to consider which branches of SAM you should deploy first since certain benefits will be achieved more quickly than others. Some may take a period of years to be fully felt.
The discovery process can be viewed as three fundamental phases that have to be undertaken to really build an accurate picture of the deployment of IT assets within your business. These are:
Inventory
Inventory is the most basic function of the discovery process. It is crucial that an accurate audit of IT assets within your business is created to aid your IT department to maintain baselines regarding your IT system.
Fortunately, this process can now be automated and even the largest of infrastructures can be searched and analysed in a relatively short period of time. Inventory should be able to identify your software assets regardless of their geographical location or technological characteristics. Modern inventory processes are capable of this.
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 stage should collect entitlements regarding all of the software that exists on your network, even if the software is not currently used. Without this step the inventory may be almost useless.
The risk of human error can be mitigated by using automatic tools that are specifically designed to build a library of license entitlements. Packages that are currently available are incredibly efficient at gathering accurate data.
Identification & Validation
The next step is to match up your software inventory to the repository of licensing information that were built in the previous two stages. Errors may have been made anywhere from the original paperwork for software to the most recent audits performed on your IT system. These errors can now be rectified.
One crucial factor in the validation stage is the ability to associate the license entitlements within your network to your company’s proof of entitlement. This will be vital if any arguments with software resellers arise as a consequence of the discovery cycle.
Once these steps have been undertaken you will have created an incredibly rich image of how your IT network is serving software assets to its users. It will be much easier to identify any trouble areas on your system, or sections of software use that are no longer of any practical benefit to your operations. This detailed image can be used for future reference as well.
You can now begin a period of reconciliation upon your network. You should compare the software programs that are actually used on your network against the licensing and support contracts that you are paying for and close 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 even thousands of individual installations, and there are any number of rules that may be involved with the licensing contracts you have in place. It is therefore a necessity 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 company
To see how SAM can directly aid your organisation use an available Centennial consultant that can construct a software asset management strategy suited to your requirements.
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 details a number of principles and best practices that should be followed for successful management of IT functions. The ITIL can be found online.
This library is a changing entity and is often updated with new concepts and techniques that cater to the ever changing IT environment of modern business. A good SAM strategy should be fluid enough to follow the guidelines laid out in the ITIL whilst matching the changing needs of the business within which it is actively utilised.
The International Standard Organisation (ISO) has created a standard that applies specifically to software asset management practices. This standard, ISO 19770-1, is an incredibly comprehensive collection of suggestions that are built to ensure that SAM is used in such a way as to “satisfy corporate governance requirements”.
The ISO standard should certainly be followed when planning a SAM strategy for your own business, 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 creating a SAM strategy, whatever plan you decide to employ must help your business rather than stifle it.
Designing a full and comprehensive SAM strategy for your own business may actually never come to fruition. Your strategy must be flexible to change and grow as your business does, and it must allow for modifications to your daily activities, no matter how small or underlying they might be. This really is the key to a worthwhile SAM strategy.
Conclusion
It is easy to see that as the scope and importance of computer systems within your company grow, so does the requirement for correct and efficient monitoring of these systems. Gone are the times when an IT branch was a bonus that would occasionally progress the business. IT networks are now critical to the modern business.
As with other parts of any organisation, a number of separate strategies should be considered and utilised in order to ensure the efficient running of daily tasks. software asset management should not be the only tactic used to manage computing resources within your organisation, but rather one of a multitude of complimentary policies used to control the system as a whole.
So if you feel that your business is currently suffering from a lack of planned monitoring and control over its IT network, or that the potential advantages outlined in this article could provide a critical market edge over your competitors, then it would be well worth researching how software asset management could be employed within your organisation. There might be no time to lose.
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