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02 Oct 2009
VARs have been urged to cash in on their software asset management (SAM) skills as research shows many firms have a haphazard approach to compliance.
The Software Industry Research Board (SIRB) tasked IDC with quizzing 600 firms of varying sizes about their SAM habits. About 30 per cent were drawn from the public sector, with the rest coming from the commercial world.
IDC senior analyst Fred Broussard advised directors to take a hands-on
approach.
He wrote: “Operational, legal, commercial and reputational risk ultimately
reside at board level. Directors need to ensure they are directing the effort to
mitigate those risks.”
Further reading
Almost 40 per cent of managers surveyed admitted they only had a basic understanding of software licensing.
SAM is assigned to the IT director at 47 per cent of firms. Chief technology officers assume responsibility at 16 per cent and the same proportion give the reins to line managers. Chief information officers and procurement staff are given the task at about 10 per cent each.
Responsibility for software licence management is also confusingly apportioned, with IT departments taking charge at 31 per cent of firms. Procurement oversees the task at 47 per cent and finance at just over a fifth.
John Lovelock, chief executive of industry body FAST Iis, which founded SIRB last year, said: “The assumption is that SAM is an IT issue and businesses need to realise it is a board issue. IT is still looked on as an overhead, rather than a profitable business process - that needs to change.”
Matt Fisher, director of Centennial products for vendor FrontRange Solutions, claimed resellers could take the lead in shoring up businesses’ SAM approach.
“You cannot do effective compliance unless you know what rules each vendor brings to bear,” he said. “Resellers can act as expert consultants, whereas vendors only know their own compliance laws.
“Almost every organisation out there is also over-licensed and VARs can deliver tangible savings to customers.”
To help directors appreciate the benefits of effective SAM, FAST has launched a Return on Investment tool. It allows firms to calculate how much of their IT budget can be saved through SAM.
Lovelock said: “Boards are interested in profit and loss, so this can get us more traction with business directors.”
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