Guidance for SAM Practitioners

FAST IiS provides a range of guidance and training for SAM practitioners plus opportunities to participate in the development and communication of the guidance. The guidance may be delivered in the following ways:

• Public Relations and Press Releases
• Bulletins
• White papers
• Events
• Tools
• Publications
• Exhibitions
• Federation speakers at 3rd party events
• Training
• Blogs
• Webinars

Type of guidance:-

• Simplified guidance on the benefits of adopting SAM & SLM best practice policies, processes and procedures.
• Self Assessment Engine (SAE) – the SAE is a self assessment guidance tool based on the ISO/IEC 19770-1 standard that enables a SAM Practitioner to benchmark an end users SAM policies and procedures. SAM Practitioners can promote the SAE and use the tool as part of their SAM consultancy offering.
• Research
  • FAST IiS Software Industry Research Board (SIRB) run an annual survey with IDC to review attitudes and perceptions in the end user base. The first SIRB white paper based on the results of the 2008 research ‘Maturity of SAM Practice in the UK Market – Perception & Reality of Risk!’ was released in November 2008.
  • Other 2008 surveys include:- The economy’s impact on software piracy (May 2008); The future generation’s attitude towards file sharing, piracy and what they perceive as theft (planned for September 2008).
• Updates from the FAST IiS Legal Advisory Group (FLAG).
• FAST IiS’ responses to government consultation papers issued on various matters concerning intellectual property rights and related areas.
• Thought leadership forums. FAST IiS in association with other industry bodies set up forums to explore new innovations that impact the software industry i.e. Virtualisation, Software as a Service (SaaS) and Opensource. The forums are focused on the major challenges that the software publishers face, which will in turn impact the SAM practitioner environment, and end users wishing to unravel the new demands.
• International reach: FAST IiS champions consistent standards, best practice and simplified messaging worldwide. We do this through the development of international chapters, alliances and associations with similar bodies. We offer SAM Practitioners the opportunity to be involved in these activities and to benefit from the outcome.
• SAM Practitioner Accreditation – the FAST IiS SAM Practitioner Accreditation programme consists of instructor-led and on-line training, exams and industry experience which is measured through end user case studies and subsequent qualification interviews with the end user. The accreditation benchmarks an individual’s and/or organisation’s skills, it adds value to the SAM Practitioner community, raises awareness of SAM and increases it’s credibility in the software industry. The SAM Practitioner Accreditation enables end users, ISVs, resellers and other sectors to elect a practitioner with confidence; secure in the knowledge that the Practitioner has reached an industry recognised level of competency. (This programme is due to launch in 2009).

FAST IiS has an extensive end user database and software publisher, reseller and consultancy services membership base which it influences through educational activities and guidance. The net effect of these activities benefits SAM practitioners and brings the communities closer together.

SAM practitioners are invited to speak and/or participate in a variety of FAST IiS events. Active involvement in a range of FAST IiS initiatives that benefit and guide the SAM industry as a whole is also encouraged.