How to Create a SAM Strategy… and Then Actually Get Started
Organizations spend a huge amount of money on enterprise software. How much? According to Gartner, global enterprise software spend was $381 billion in 2018, and that number is growing at 8.6% annually.
The opportunity to optimize this spending is enormous, especially during a time of economic uncertainty.
And yet, Software Asset Management (SAM) practitioners still wrestle with time-consuming, inaccurate manual processes hosted in spreadsheets or legacy SAM tools. Optimization is almost a pipe dream – consigned to the back burner by lack of visibility, too little time, and constant fire drills. It’s tough to drive strategic SAM initiatives when you’re scrambling to respond to software vendor audits.
By eliminating waste and redistributing software budgets to support strategic business initiatives, you and IT can accelerate the company’s digitalization agenda, contributing directly to bottom-line revenues and growth. However, the majority of organizations struggle to manage their software assets.
Fortunately, next-generation IT asset management solutions are starting to replace traditional SAM tools. It’s time to start creating your Software Asset strategy.
1. Manage software where you manage the rest of your assets and IT.
If you already have a single system of action in IT, then your choice of a SAM vendor is obvious – add SAM to your existing platform. If you don’t have a single system of action, choose a SAM vendor that offers one. Look for a solution that offers comprehensive discovery capabilities, a robust catalog for normalizing software inventory, automated reclamation and redistribution of licenses, and flexible reporting on software usage, costs, and compliance trends.
2. Identify your stakeholders and work with them to identify business needs.
Your SAM strategy should start by identifying what you want to accomplish. Obviously, you have your own internal goals, such as reducing the effort needed for vendor audits, but to create broader value, you need to work with other stakeholders to establish clear business goals. For example, these might include statements such as, “We don’t want to be surprised by shadow IT expenses or applications that are flying under the radar”, or, “We have to optimize our software spend so we invest in applications we actually use and need.”
3. Establish clear outcomes that align with these business needs.
Translate each of your goals into one or more measurable outcomes. This focuses your efforts on specific activities and allows you to measure and communicate your success. For instance, if your goal is to pinpoint applications that are no longer business-critical, then the corresponding objective could be to reduce software spend by 15% by eliminating applications that are redundant or infrequently used.
Are you ready for steps four and five? Hint, they have to do with keeping your strategy up to date and realistic. Download the full eBook to get the details.
