- With a brighter economic outlook for the UK in 2010, the conference allows senior finance and IT professionals to gain insight and practical advice from fellow professionals and an expert panel -

Following the success of the inaugural event in 2009, the one essential Software Management and Licensing Conference will take place on Wednesday 21st, April 2010 at the Madejski Stadium in Reading. This annual one-day event is organised by the Software Industry Research Board (SIRB). The theme of this year’s conference is based on the results of the SIRB’s 2009/2010 research project which was conducted by IDC. To find out more and register for the conference please visit www.sirb.co.uk/event.

The conference will help CIOs, CFOs, Finance Directors, IT Directors and all those who have responsibility for the commercial and operational management of software licenses to understand the significant benefits of having effective software management processes in place. They will learn good governance practices, methods to save their organisations significant financial sums as well as have an opportunity to network and interact with peers.

Alex Hilton, Chairman of the SIRB and Vice President at FrontRange Solutions, comments: “The event highlights the critical steps to take to create a successful software asset management (SAM) strategy, and sets out how to identify and overcome the barriers to effectively manage software.”

The conference will open with keynote speeches then split into workshop sessions after the mid-morning break. There are eight unique workshop sessions in total that will be delivered simultaneously in two groups of four and repeated in the afternoon, which will allow each delegate to attend the workshops that are most relevant and beneficial to them. SIRB members, Oracle, Computacenter, Symantec, Microsoft, FrontRange and Associate SIRB member, Phoenix Software will shed light on best practice, commercial licensing models and SAM tools, SAAS and Cloud computing and give guidance on the steps to ensure effective management of software estates. The final plenary session of the day will look at the key considerations of software licensing when implementing a virtualised environment.

“Business leaders can no longer afford to be unaware of the cost and risk to their businesses resulting from ineffective software asset management. Organisations are often faced with confusion, jargon and complexity and consequently do not actively manage their software as rigorously as they should. This conference is a good platform for anyone who is responsible for - and involved in - licence management and SAM projects. Attendees will receive practical guidance on how to kick start a successful practice and/or develop more sophisticated SAM processes to enjoy enhanced benefits,” said Alex.

The SIRB’s mandate is to provide education and guidance to UK organisations on software licensing and management. It champions best practice and is committed to improving the understanding of licensing practices and attitudes towards commercial software management.

John Lovelock, Chief Executive, FAST IiS added: “With the daily issues of budget constraints and compliance, this event will help delegates identify effective software asset management tools and learn from organisations who have themselves overcome the challenges.”

For more information please visit www.sirb.co.uk/event or call 0845 5218630. Early Bird discounts are available for online bookings until 17th March 2010. £295 for the first delegate and £225 for each additional delegate. The full price is £350 for the first delegate and £300 for each additional delegate. All prices are exclusive of VAT.