Can Software Asset Management really deliver dramatic RoI? My guess is that a headline such as that will raise a lot of eyebrows and sceptical muttering, but it’s recently been illustrated very clearly just how possible this is. Many organizations have IT asset operations teams that work miracles every day with tight staffing levels to … Continue reading When SAM offers RoI over 1,000% (yes, really)
IT Asset Discovery – great start in ITAM – but only a start Organizations adopt IT asset management disciplines for a wide variety of reasons, at different rates of maturity, and at different stages of the organization’s growth. The term IT asset management is used to refer to a broad spectrum of capability and achievement. Basic, … Continue reading When do spreadsheets run out of steam for ITAM?
We don’t get much snow here, so now that there’s a good covering, the road from my rural home here and the local road network generally are not where you want to be. The heater is on, and from the relative comfort of my home office I have a great view of the pristine snow … Continue reading Snowbound – the joys of a remote worker
Software Asset Management standard to be re-structured I first referred visitors to this blog to ISO 19770-1 in a post in March 2010, and a technical briefing note generated around the same time. ISO 19770-1 sets out processes which would be implemented by an organization pursuing Software Asset Management. The twenty seven processes outlined in … Continue reading ISO 19770-1 : your chance to contribute
Software License Compliance – a risk not worth taking? In a recent press release on the Business Software Alliance’s Web site, the BSA’s UK-based Michala Wardell reminds anyone listening that not paying attention to compliance can results in penal costs that far outstrip the nominal cost of the software in question. The offending Scotland based organization … Continue reading License Compliance not going away as significant risk issue
Has your organization ever sold a retired computer with applications still installed? Have you ever purchased software this way? A recent court ruling in Seattle has sent a chill down the spine of many IT Asset Managers around the world as the U.S. District Court upheld that software publishers can prevent their products from being … Continue reading Court ruling hikes pressure on Software Asset Management
IT Asset Management – foundation for action Vector’s quarterly strategy review was held in our Montreal office over the second half of last week and Saturday, and at a lodge hotel out in the country on Sunday until we had to head for the airport. As usual, we considered short term needs, medium term objectives, … Continue reading ITAM – basis for effective and pro-active control
Software Inventory Analysis with Black and White Lists One of the most basic – and most immediately useful – uses for rich software inventory information, is white list and black list reporting. A white list of applications which every PC should have installed, and a black list of applications that should not be found on … Continue reading White List – Black List – SAM
As an IT professional, how bad do you think the non-compliance situation is in your organization? In very many organizations today, the top brass still hasn’t got the message on the potential cost savings from a strong SAM program, or on the risk reduction, or simply on the organization’s legal obligations to its suppliers as well … Continue reading Non-compliance in licensing – it’s so easy!
Software Distribution: who still needs it? One theme we come across often is a need for an automated software distribution method that makes it easy to keep applications deployed and updated, particularly where the target PCs are defined by reference to a combination of characteristics. For an example, an application may be regarded as a companion product … Continue reading Software Distribution: relevant for virtual as well as physical systems.