Software Asset Management Overview

Software can represent 25% of an organisation's total IT budget so it makes good sense to keep a close eye on how, where and what licences you buy. This process is Software Asset Management (SAM) which the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) defines as "all of the infrastructure and processes necessary for the effective management, control and protection of the software assets within an organisation, throughout all stages of their lifecycle."

Historically, the main project drivers for Software Asset Management have been around compliance. As more and more organisations recognise their legal obligation, or are reminded of it by the software regulators or publishers, many have been driven simply to complete a licence compliance review which has little or no return and in most cases has been seen as a costly exercise.

For those organisations which have engaged with Phoenix Software and adopted our approach, however, it has been a different story. They have been able to continue managing their licence compliance status, which has in turn enabled them to make more informed purchasing decisions - ultimately leading to significant cost savings.

Essentially, what Phoenix Software has been professing and delivering for the last decade, is the core and initial processes required for managing software effectively. Clearly understanding what entitlement you have and what software has been installed, and then being able to continually track that equation, is a key requirement of any Software Asset Management programme.

The primary objective of Software Asset Management, therefore, is to manage, control and protect an organisation's software assets, minimising legal risks while maximising return on investment (ROI).

For more information on the full range of products and services available from Phoenix Software, or to make a general enquiry, please email info@phoenixs.co.uk or call 0845 265 1265.