By Vyshnava Bhaskarla
We all operate in a world where there is no such thing as “unlimited” resources. Everybody wants and is expected to do more with whatever limited resources they have. Two things that any organization inherently has are – data and people. Data, or in some cases even, an abundance of data, is really meaningful only when it is converted into actionable information. People that leverage information as part of a process can generate insights which result in more optimized investment decisions and cost savings. The fact is that there is a huge opportunity to do more than you think you can with what you already have in your Software Asset Management (SAM) discipline. Although SAM is certainly a journey, it is one that can deliver quick wins and positive results as you progress through the maturity levels.
A conscious and effective Software Asset Management program need not be a distant dream. The benefits of a good SAM program go beyond cost savings and informed investment decision making. It also enables you to improve security and software license compliance, reducing the risk of both breaches and software audits.
People can leverage SAM tools to transform data about the software and hardware assets that are located in your datacenter and desktop environments across departments and regions. Using these tools, the data can be turned into valuable information, putting your company on firm footing to optimize IT spend and reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
The SAM tools normalize your software asset inventory data (which often exists in disparate systems and in a form that is not easily consumable), categorize and classify it into actionable information. For example, information on unauthorized software in the environment can drive a process to remove those applications and reduce security risk. Categorization reveals redundant applications that can be consolidated to reduce internal management and support costs as well as improve contract negotiating leverage. SAM tools use the normalized inventory data along with license entitlement data to determine a license compliance position. This insight allows you to maintain compliance and reduce audit risk.
We all know about “garbage in, garbage out.” What good is your data if it is inaccurate, incomplete and inconsistent? This is where people play a critical role. Once you have a SAM tool set up, you now have the foundation and visibility to detect data discrepancies, incompleteness and inaccuracies. For example, new software title additions in your environment that are not recognized can be addressed by adding the missing titles to the Application Recognition Library in the SAM tool.
Entitlement data (purchase orders, contracts, etc.) management can be periodically assessed for accuracy and completeness. Yet another example could be when acquired software or hardware is not yet deployed and can be handled by various filters within the SAM tool to appropriately account for their status and reflect the true picture of your IT environment.
Software Asset Management tools serve as a technology enabler that allows software asset managers to generate information and insights using streamlined processes which, in turn, reduce cost and risk.
Just starting your Software Asset Management journey? Checkout the “Blog: Reaping the Benefits of a Software Asset Management Tool Implementation” and download the free whitepaper “Moving Up the Software License Optimization Maturity Curve to Drive Business Value.”