When businesses acquire new software, they tend to load the applications on their individual computers or their central servers, begin using them and then try to measure how much they’re saving in time or costs. But according to a major technology research firm, businesses tend to overlook steps that can reduce their overall expenses, optimize their investments and keep them out of legal trouble.
According to Patricia Adams, research director at Gartner, Inc., business owners who systematically keep track of the way their software is being used can slash their technology costs by almost 30 percent in the first year, plus an additional 5 percent to 10 percent each year after that.
The manner in which that tracking occurs and the ways a company controls access and deployment of its software are called Software Asset Management, or SAM. If you’re a business executive, you can carry out this process by taking a few important measures to ensure that you know what software you own, the status of your software licensing and the policies that will protect these assets.
Companies across the United States have reported a wide range of benefits after implementing a software asset management program. They’resaving time and gaining peace of mindbecause they’re able to focus on their most important technology needs without having to exert nearly as much effort worrying about computer viruses, the latest “patches” or applications that haven’t been updated. They’re also able to determine which software is helping them the most. And once they’ve made sure that all their software is legal and licensed, they have access to help desks and other resources for assistance in troubleshooting problems – an opportunity they don’t have when unauthorized software is used.
The Software Asset Management Process
To implement SAM within your organization, you should first review company-wide policies and procedures for software use. Ensure that your employees understand how and when to order software, how and where it should be deployed, proper software usage and software recovery techniques.
Second, establish business process rules and goals based on the policies you developed, so you can determine the kind of measurement tools you need to evaluate the status of your software.
Then, choose a software-inventory tool that fits into your business-process objectives and perform a software inventory. This should determine: what software is installed on your company’s PCs, workstations and servers; who is using each asset; and where they reside. You can also conduct this inventory manually, but a software tool will scan your network automatically and provide a substantive report.
Additionally, match your installed software with the software licenses you have purchased. In this way, you can tell if you have unused licenses that may be of benefit to others in your organization, or if you are subject to legal action or additional fees because you haven’t bought a license for a particular piece of software.
As a final step, it’s important to develop an ongoing plan. Use your inventory as a baseline and establish a plan for ongoing software management as you move forward. Instituting the right policies from the time you consider software acquisition, all the way through its deployment, use and retirement can provide peace of mind and greater security for your technology.
Take the time to care for your software infrastructure, and it will unlock greater profitability and security for your company.
