Software Asset Management

One Partner for all your Software Licence Asset Management Challenges

How confident are you in your business’ contractual obligations around third-party software use? Is your business providing adequate due diligence in preparation for an inevitable audit process? Are you getting the greatest value from your current systems and software with a clear understanding of where your business needs to evolve to?

93%
USAGE

Clients who saved money by getting a handle on their licence usage ahead of time

52%
NEGOTIATION

Organisations that lack information needed to negotiate software contracts

41%
COMPLIANCE

CIOs who do not have any visability into their licence compliance status

Software Asset Management is often portrayed as a turnkey solution with a high level of automation. While that is certainly the aim of an effective SAM strategy, the reality is that managing software and license entitlements is a complex operation that requires a careful mix of people, processes and technology

Delivering and managing IT has grown more complex and comprehensive than ever before, from the growth of virtualisation and the expansion of enterprise platforms, to the migration towards cloud computing. These ever-evolving technologies add challenges for those managing an organisation’s compliance and software spend.

Understanding the fundamental difference between the terms ‘software licence’ (or licensing) and ‘entitlement’ (or entitlement management) is crucial for success. Maintaining skill currency is critical to optimal reviews with software vendor contracts and entitlements. These are often difficult and complicated, which often results in unexpected financial exposure.

Benefits of adopting a Software Asset Management Solution

Without a holistic approach to asset management – particularly an understanding of how all hardware and software assets are linked to business processes – IT will find it virtually impossible to optimise the dynamic resources essential for delivering vital business services.

Leveraging Software Asset Management capabilities, many organisations see a broad range of benefits, including:

Cost savings across software, hardware and cloud subscriptions:

Software Asset Management provides your organisation full visibility across your IT landscape, empowering you to consolidate environments to ensure better control over cost, compliance, and insights required to assist in decisions.

Compliance penalty avoidance:

While vendors like IBM, Oracle, SAP, Microsoft are synonymous with licence audits – tier-two vendors are also scaling up their audit capability. With clients who have engaged us for audit defence, we have seen on average 46% of these organisations have been audited at least three times in the last 18 months.

Leveraging Software Asset Management has enabled businesses to remain informed and prepared by identifying and addressing any licence deficits in advance, mitigating and minimising any commercial penalties related to compliance.

Licence optimisation opportunities:

As business structures change alongside roles and staff numbers, businesses need visibility into unused and freed-up licences. This enables your business to repurpose or re-harvest licences rather than purchase new, which eases pressure on IT budgets while ensuring optimal usage.

Full visibility:

Ever evolving roadmaps require fast and efficient management of technological change around new business models, processes, and functions. Managing these changes requires complete visibility and control over all hardware, software, and cloud assets across your IT ecosystem.

Leveraging Software Asset Management provides you with a 360-degree view of your IT landscape, software metering, usage data, and costs, which enables you to best prepare for and manage transformation processes.