Software Asset Management- Tactic or Strategy?
According to Wikipedia, Software Asset Management (SAM) is "a core business practice that involves managing and optimizing the purchase, deployment, maintenance, utilization, and disposal of software applications across an organization." Critical to every IT strategy, the goal is to reduce information technology costs and mitigate legal risk related to software ownership and use, without compromising IT responsiveness or end-user productivity.
A SAM initiative can serve different functions within an organization, based on need and environmental complexity. Many times the objective is tactical, focused on reconciling the number of software licenses purchased with the number of copies in use. This will minimize liabilities in the event of a software audit.
Others may take a more strategic approach to SAM, with outcomes such as an improved ability to negotiate software contracts, the elimination or reuse of dormant licenses, or the reduction of IT resources necessary to deploy, maintain and secure standardized configurations.
Whatever the goal, proactive steps should be taken: first, an accurate and comprehensive software inventory; then, the ability to meter and fine tune utilization; finally, an effective means for deploying and patching approved applications to ensure all are updated and secure.
Understand why effective software asset management is important, but still struggling with the task? Check out this informative on-demand webcast: Software License Compliance: Confirmation, Not Speculation.
Sincerely,
Wynn White
Vice President of Marketing, Dell KACE.
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