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Software Asset Management (SAM) Review
Given the increasing
importance of the software resource where associated expenditures
generally increase in-line with rapidly growing IT infrastructures, it
therefore follows that Software Asset Management (SAM) is now a key
task within any organization, but especially the larger business.
However the role of SAM has not necessarily been clearly defined
within organizations, often either fulfilled on a part-time basis by
either the centralized procurement or specialized IT departments.
Inevitably procurement personnel don't necessarily understand how
the software should be deployed, while the IT personnel don't
necessarily have the requisite negotiation or commercial contractual
skills to secure a solid and cost efficient software price.
Therefore historically and even as of today, many organizations
could be paying far too much for their software and often find
themselves subject to "Software
Stiffing" scenarios...
Software expenditure has increased from ~10% of the overall IT
expenditure in the early 1990's to ~40%+ as of today. Without a SAM
function it becomes impossible to identify "shelfware", paying for
products that are not used, or indeed identify low use products or
products where functionality has now been superseded, or is now
included in base products (E.g. RDBMS, Operating System, Etc.).
Equally from a polarized viewpoint, there is a need to safeguard
that deployed software is actually being paid for as per the legal
guidelines outlined by bodies such as
The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST).
Value-4IT have considerable skills both technical and commercial
that provide a platform for practicable SAM delivery and have
considerably reduced software expenditure for many of our customers.
From a simplistic viewpoint a SAM process is based upon the
following:
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Inventory Management (Software
Resource - Product Portfolio, Contracts, et al) |
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Supplier Management
(Contractual License - Negotiation, Renewal, et al) |
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Asset
Management (Software Product
- Audit, Metering, Acquisition, Retirement, et al) |
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Security Management (Software
- DR Usage, Historical Records, et al) |
The "Discovery" phase facilitated
by the inventory process is pivotal for establishing the
possibilities for reducing and controlling software expenditure
costs. It is also important to note that software costs can be
controlled without the requirement for product displacement by
conversion, which should always be a last resort when observing
the Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) methodology, as per:
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1. |
Displacement - Eradicate any unused or duplicate products |
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2. |
Negotiation
- Renegotiate software contracts armed with function usage
data |
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3. |
Simple
Conversion - Increased function and lower price with minimal
risk |
In conclusion, the strategic and
value-added software supplier will be focussed on maintaining
their client relationships and so will not necessarily be phased
by their client wanting to renegotiate contracts. Ultimately
SAM outputs provide the client with the requisite information to
have an informed pricing discussion with their suppliers...
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Lower software costs are not just for the privileged - they're
for everyone! |
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