In a time of unprecedented global financial turmoil that has seen governments intervene, companies fail and heavy job losses - the need to save for that ‘rainy day’ and avoid risk is both relevant and heightened in consciousness of each and every one of us in our day to day lives.  Now take that same philosophy and apply it to our business lives - do we have the same sense of urgency, care and preparation for our spending and do we have a similar sensitivity to risk?

Most leading Analyst firms are advising that IT spending will flatten or contract in 2009.  Big new purchases may be deferred and people will concentrate on investing precious funds in areas that improve operational productivity, reduce operating costs or deliver a quick and proven return on investment.   Equally those same Analysts predict that as markets get tougher, vendors will naturally be more conscious of ensuring that existing customers are adequately and properly licensed, and as such an increase in vendor led reviews is inevitable.  In fact a recent survey carried out by IDC for FAST IiS identified that 55% of 600 UK based companies had been subject to a vendor review, a considerable uplift on the 35% often quoted as an industry average.  Therefore, with everyone aware that the prevalence of audit reviews is increasing, and against the backdrop of the financial pressure on budgets for 2009, there is no better time for an organisation to kick off its own Software Asset Management initiative in order to drive out un-necessary cost on an informed basis, negotiate new agreements based upon proven need and mitigate non compliance risk.

Sound too easy?  Well maybe in those few words yes, but the point is this - doing nothing really is not an option.  The reality is most companies that only react to an audit review find the internal cost and distraction significant because they were not properly prepared, and the reality is in the current financial climate it is good governance to seek out inefficiency and risk and to erradicate it.

If you need to tighten the financial belt in your company; if you have had to face employment freezes or internal redundancies; if you need to make a choice between competing priorities because you can’t fund them both, if you have no formal or enforceable Software procurement and deployment controls; or just because you want to be confident of the controls in your business - the financial justification for Software Asset Management has never been greater than it is today.  Take the time to understand how SAM can drive down material costs and reduce business risk.

Software procurement, operational management and maintenance now represent a very significant, increasing, and yet often poorly visible, expenditure for most businesses.  The truth is that we cannot operate without Software today as it enables our basic business processes and often underpins our competitive offering.  It should be surprising then that many businesses still struggle to control the deployment, use, remediation, licensing and security impacts of Software in the workplace.  As a result unnecessary risks are incurred ranging from under used software and poor lifecycle management driving up costs to unauthorised software deployment and poor license reconciliation increasing the tangible security and compliance risks to the organisation.

That said, the Software Industry has sought to provide guidance and best practice to the business community through supporting the launch of the ISO 19770-1 SAM Best Practices standard in 2006.  With ever increasing awareness of this standard along with the growing adoption of ITIL as a framework, the business community is adopting a more proactive approach to SAM, going beyond the traditional stimulus from the risk of a compliance audit to seeking to harness maximum value and control from their investment in Software.

This blog has been established to provide an on-going commentary about the drivers for SAM, real-world best practices, industry activity and evolving trends.  With relevance to both the business executive and the SAM practitioner, I am seeking to provide an independent view on whats working, and whats not, and to encourage a wider discussion that will enable businesses to harness the full potential of their investment in Software in a practical and efficient way. 

So bookmark this blog, follow the commentary …  and share your thoughts and insights to drive greater recognition and awareness of the real benefits that can be achieved though effective management of Software.