Introduction
The extent to which computing has become a part of normal life and everyday business has prompted a change in the way management approaches how they manage the finances, the tasks and the systems within an organisation. Technology becoming an important factor in business.
As technology becomes more widespread within a company and takes a more prominent vital within the critical functions of that organisation, it is necessary to make sure that an appropriate amount of attention is given to this computing.
Technology have come a long way over the past few years and are now seen as critical elements of any business. As such, they are allocated grander budgets but must also be able to manage a greater amount of responsibility.
But after you have spent a substantial amount of money on developing your IT infrastructure and seen the needs of your business change, how do you ensure that the IT you are using can keep up with demand?
This is the function by IT management software and systems.
Every organisation and every situation will have different specifications and will create different problems. To meet these needs there are a number of different technologies and approaches that can be used to help control the IT infrastructure of your organisation.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 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 commercial environment, particularly for businesses operating in the field of Information Technology. Despite the many benefits of SAM, there are still a great many companies that are not utilising it to its full potential.
SAM is not simply a program for technicians rolling out software across a large corporate network, but can be a critical tool to help improve performance at all levels of a organisation. 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. As IT usage in a business grows, so do the potential benefits of SAM.
The practice of software asset management is often seen as an unnecessary evil due to the abstract nature of what it is designed to deal with, and the financial case for employing a SAM solution is not always obvious until a broad audit of the software infrastructure of a company has been done. Once existing problems have been highlighted however, the use of software asset management becomes self evident.
Economic benefits are still the most driving business factor when choosing to employ SAM software within a company. Every company needs to make money after all and revenue is a very measurable figure.
An increasingly large proportion of a company’s IT bank roll is spent on software licensing so there is a critical need to invest to correctly monitor this spending. As businesses grow and spread, their software requirements 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 IT department of your organisation either. As a management cycle it will often include many of the departments within a organisation, including Finance Human Resources, to make sure that it runs as efficiently as possible.
When choosing an appropriate provider of a software asset management solution for your system Centennial Discovery should be a product that is considered amongst others.
Why follow a SAM Strategy?
Having seen the multiple benefits of utilising a software asset management solution, how do you know that it would be appropriate for your business? Every business is different and has its own unique set of challenges and advantages, so any strategy you will use needs to be tailored to these specific characteristics. The benefits of SAM do cover the fundamental aspects of software management.
There are more than simply financial advantages that can be achieved through the management of licensing and maintenance agreements across a businesses IT system. Productivity can be hugely improved by ensuring that users have the newest versions of software available under current licenses held, and communication within the business is helped when support staff know exactly what is installed on every workstation under their control.
Cost Savings
As discussed before, perhaps the most persuading reason to utilise SAM within your company is the potential cost savings that can be made. The profitability of your business is always going to be the bottom line so any plan that can help to improve this profitability by lowering expenses is one that should be evaluated.
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 needed. The software might not be being used any longer, it may be very 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 company you are streamlining a large portion of your IT network. Paying for unneeded software licenses and maintenance contracts means that more finance can be spent on the critical parts of your IT system.
Mitigate Risk
A surprising amount of software that is currently 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 not advised, because when left unchecked it can become very unpredictable. This is becoming an increasingly frustrating factor for network managers.
Unlicensed software applications can be introduced into an uncontrolled IT system 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 access policies in place, users may also be able to install their own software onto the network. Operating a corporate IT system in this wild way will almost certainly lead to trouble.
The danger 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 recover the situation? Operating a complex software system without the appropriate support can create a metaphorical minefield when it comes to disaster recovery and can critically limit your responsiveness to unpredictable events.
Some of the most profitable Centennial distributors during recent times have viewed SAM as key part of their portfolio.
Implementing Software Asset Management in your Organisation
As previously mentioned, there are numerous potential benefits to using a good software asset management strategy within your organisation, both financial and otherwise. It is vitally important to consider which elements of SAM you should implement first since certain benefits will be realised more speedily than others.
This discovery process can be seen as three basic areas that have to be performed to really develop an informative picture of the usage of IT assets within your organisation. These are:
Inventory
Inventory is the most fundamental stage of the discovery process. It is crucial that an accurate inventory of IT assets within your organisation is created to help your IT managers to maintain baselines regarding your IT system.
Fortunately, this process can now be made automatic and even the grandest of infrastructures can be investigated and analysed in a relatively short period of time. Inventory should be able to identify your software assets regardless of their geographical location or computing characteristics. Modern inventory processes are capable of this.
Capture
The second step in the discovery process involves the capture of the license entitlements that concern the software assets discovered in the inventory. The capture stage should collect entitlements for all of the software that is installed on your network, even if the software is not currently used. Without this information the inventory would be almost useless.
The risk of human error can be avoided by using automatic tools that are specifically created to create a library of license entitlements. Tools 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 process is to match up your software inventory to the repository of licensing information that were created in the last two stages. Errors may have occurred anywhere from the original paperwork for software to the latest audits undertaken on your IT network. These errors can now be rectified.
One crucial factor in the validation step 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 resellers arise as a consequence of the discovery process. You want to be as informed as possible in these circumstances.
Once these steps have been undertaken you will have built an incredibly detailed image of how your IT system is serving software assets to its users. It will be much easier to identify particular trouble spots on your network, or areas of software use that are no longer of any practical benefit to your activites.
You can now start a period of reconciliation upon your system. You should compare the software programs that are actually employed on your system against the licensing and support contracts that you are paying for and bridge any divides between the two.
The software distribution in your system may include many hundreds or perhaps thousands of individual installations, and there may be any number of rules that may be associated with the licensing contracts you have in place. It is therefore a necessity to automate the reconciliation process, utilising one or more tools to apply intelligent rules to the process. These rules can be catered to the specific needs of your company
There is a growing respect in the computing industry toward Centennial vendors since they can provide vital services for a modern business.
Compliancy and Flexibility with SAM
Many of the basic practices of a successful SAM 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 followed for successful management of IT operations.
This library is a changing entity and is often updated with new concepts and policies that cater to the constantly changing IT environment 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 needs of the business within which it is actively used. This is an essential requirement of successful SAM
The International Standard Organisation (ISO) has published a standard that applies specifically to software asset management practices. This standard, ISO 19770-1, is an incredibly comprehensive set of suggestions that are designed to ensure that SAM is used in such a way as to “satisfy corporate governance requirements”. Standards of this kind play an essential role in realising standardisation across an industry.
The ISO standard should really be followed when designing a SAM strategy for your own company, although the level of detail covered within can quickly become a daunting challenge. It is vital to remember that no matter what recommendations you follow when designing a SAM strategy, whatever plan you decide to implement must help your organisation rather than stifle it. Industry standards cannot simply be copied when it comes to applying them to your organisation.
Creating a full and comprehensive SAM strategy for your own company may actually never come to fruition. Your plan must be flexible to adapt and grow as your organisation does, and it should allow for modifications to your daily activities, no matter how small or fundamental they might be. This really is the key to a successful SAM strategy.
Conclusion
It is clear to see that as the scope and importance of IT systems within your company grow, so does the need for correct and effective management of these systems. Gone are the times when an IT department was a luxury that would sometimes progress the business. IT networks are now vital to the modern organisation. Crucial systems need to be maintained to an appropriate standard.
As with other branches of any company, a number of separate strategies should be considered and utilised in order to ensure the efficient running of day to day activities. software asset management should not be the only tactic used to manage computing resources within your organisation, 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 company but should be supported by other techniques.
So if you think that your company is really suffering from a lack of planned monitoring and control over its IT network, or that the possible advantages described in this article could manufacture a critical market advantage over your competitors, then it would be well worth researching how software asset management could be employed within your business. There might be no time to lose.