As experts in the field of IT Asset Management (if we do say so ourselves…), we have come across numerous ideas, through research and practice, of what the “best practices” should be. We have compiled a concise list of what we believe to be the top 7 best practices for ITAM that every IT pro … Continue reading Seven Best Practices for IT Asset Management
Providing the relevant documentation to support your software license entitlements is an essential requirement of modern audits. However documentation management is frequently overlooked by busy IT Managers and Software Asset Managers until the auditor arrives. Vector suggest that understanding what documentation supports your license entitlement should be your first step. Different software vendors require different … Continue reading Managing Software License Documentation
Today’s slim-line IT management teams need to be aware of the benefits that will accrue from adopting a strategy of pro-active software asset optimization. Further, the concepts outlined here are as valid for cloud services and mobile apps, as for conventional on-premise packages. Step 1: Asset Inventory Executing a full hardware and software inventory collection … Continue reading Software Asset Optimization: Fast Track to Benefits
The Software Asset Optimization Challenge Application software licensing and maintenance costs are a significant component of an IT budget, but few organizations take an adequately structured and informed approach to minimizing the expense. In our experience this is because the challenge spans multiple departments, each of which has its own priorities. For a procurement department … Continue reading Who takes ownership of Software Asset Optimization?
Software Distribution Software Distribution is one of those unglamorous but utterly essential items in the SysAdmin’s toolbox. It’s never talked about unless it screws up. We visited one of our larger UK customers recently, where Asset Manager Pro has been teamed up with the Software Distribution module. It was a little after half-way through November, … Continue reading Software distribution keeps the lights on
Software Asset Optimization: a matter of balance IT Provisioning is a bit like running a restaurant. IT users come and go, often unpredictably, with varying ICT needs. Employing the skills and tools necessary to respond to this a la carte demand for IT resource is expensive. If everyone was simply given the same set of … Continue reading IT Asset Optimization, too much like hard work?
Change and License Management increase the RoI of IT Asset Management For a long time, the slowly maturing market for IT asset management focussed on the breadth and accuracy of the asset data collected. This was a significant challenge in itself, with lack of standardization in how assets were defined and represented; even today we … Continue reading IT Asset Management gets more pro-active
2012 kicked off with an encouraging 1000PC expansion of our Software Asset Management technology in a European heavy engineering customer. Beyond the value of the deal, and really of greater significance, is an illustration of the evolutionary approach many organizations take to Software Asset Management. Elements of Software Asset Management A fully evolved SAM function … Continue reading Software Asset Management: evolution v revolution
IT asset management: too broad a term? With each new inquiry that comes to us via Google (usually…), our first challenge is always to get the inquirer to tell us what they are really looking for. Some are happy to open up and give us the background to their search, and explain their business needs … Continue reading Selecting ITAM / SAM tools: not a simple task
We are often struck by the gulf that exists in most organizations between reality and the idealized picture of totally integrated infrastructure management, in which Change Management, Service Management, Incident and Problem Management and IT Asset Management all tie neatly together. Underfunding, short horizons for planning, rapid organic growth forced by merger or acquisition, and … Continue reading Joined up infrastructure management