In a previous blog about SAM processes I mentioned the Human Resources department (HR) as a major participant. Last week I met an HR Manager of a midsize company. Among other topics we talked about my statements regarding the role of HR in SAM processes. She appears to have a good relationship with the IT […]
In the previous blogs in this series I described my favorite SAM Process model and organizational units that are involved. ISO 19770 is the standard that should support organizations to prove that their processes comply to globally accepted recommendations. Unfortunately, certification is not yet possible (see also ‘Although ISO 19770’ by my colleague Nico […]
After reading my previous blog in this series, for the observant reader the conclusion will be that managing software compliance requires a combination of SAM-tooling and processes, and not only the processes that are supported directly by the tooling. I introduced my favorite SAM process model and the SAM Core processes. In this subsequent blog, […]
Many organizations struggle with software licenses and only few succeed in managing software compliance. Often the advice is to get the Software Asset Management processes properly implemented. But then many questions arise. Process models like ISO 19770 or ITIL-SAM identify processes but don’t provide support for specification and implementation. In a series of articles, I will discuss SAM processes and an approach to implement them.
Many, even most organizations, are periodically audited by software vendors. The huge amounts that must be paid for licenses and fines – which are, by the way, in many cases compensated by investments in new, unwanted software – are triggers to reflect. Some organizations choose ‘all you can eat contracts’ (expensive, but no risk for claims afterwards) or doing nothing (accept the cost for the short term and resolve the problem later; don’t cross the bridges before you come to them). The majority select a SAM tool vendor and have them their tool implemented. The implementation approach implies processes but, in fact, limited to the ability of using the software. I know many examples of organizations that after one year are frustrated by the tool and decide to select another tool. In most cases, this decision is not justified. The differences between tools are small and the results will likely be the same the next time. Probable conclusions are that input data is not reliable or SAM operators are not capable to process the data. In both cases implementing SAM processes may be the solution.
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