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Software Asset Management: for the efficient use of your licenses

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Software Asset Management helps you cope with the increasing complexity in the licensing area

Many companies find it more and more difficult to maintain a sufficient overview of the software they use. This is due to the increasingly extensive license models, terms of use and license agreements of software manufacturers. Incorrect estimates can result in serious financial losses. With our professional software asset management consulting, our software asset managers help you to remain legally compliant and audit-proof in the long term, despite increasing complexity. Benefit from the advantages of the different components of our consulting.

What is Software Asset Management?

Software Asset Management (SAM) manages, controls and protects your software and hardware assets at all stages of their lifecycle. It is an important sub-discipline of IT Asset Management (ITAM) and is the counterpart of Hardware Asset Management (HAM).

By actively controlling, automating the acquisition, use, and deployment of software licenses, you can minimize your expenses and optimize your license budget. SAM comprises many components, which means that you can always maintain an overview with our consulting services.

Our Software Asset Management Services

Protect your company from the risk of license violations and minimize the risk of economic impact due to overlicensing or underlicensing. As part of our Software Asset Management Services, we support you with our expertise and many years of experience.

Consulting

We advise you methodically and strategically along the SAM value chain to ensure your project success.

Expertise

Thanks to our technology know-how, we not only deal with the license and compliance perspective, but also take into account the technical requirements of the business departments and IT operations.

Managed Services

To support your ongoing Software Asset Management, we offer suitable Managed Services - from tool maintenance to finished reporting.

Procedure for SAM:

When implementing Software Asset Management, the following steps have become established at our company:

  • Overview of existing contracts and licenses.
  • Identification of existing sources for measuring software usage.
  • Evaluation of the current state of software usage in the company.
  • Creation of a TARGET/ACTUAL overview (license balance) as a basis for sustainable SAM.
  • Selection and implementation of a SAM tool to ensure ongoing compliance with assignment of SW to employee or device.
  • Definition of processes to sustainably anchor software compliance in the company.
  • Access to license costs, software usage and current compliance status at any time.

Your benefits from Software Asset Management:

Compliance

Ensure license compliance and security in vendor audit.

Savings

Cost optimization by avoiding overlicensing and more efficient software use.

Transparency

Transparency regarding your company's software inventory and usage.

Process optimization

Establish processes with clearly defined responsibilities.

Components of Software Asset Management

Asset Management

Better visibility of software as an asset of the company.

Software, or more precisely the rights to use it, represents a high value in the company. It is often - besides personnel - the largest cost factor in IT. These assets must be managed and used efficiently. However, this is only possible through transparency and comparison of current and desired (and audit-proof) software usage.

Lifecycle Management

From implementation to uninstallation. All phases of usage are assessed and documented.

Software assets in the enterprise go through various phases, from planning, purchasing, deployment, maintenance to decommissioning. These phases and their monitoring is important as it significantly affects the value of the software in the enterprise. Over-licensing - if planned - can therefore provide a useful "buffer" instead of unnecessary additional expenditure.

Risk management

Transparency enables risks to be identified and measures to be taken in good time.

The rights to use software are subject to the manufacturer's licensing terms, as well as general copyright law. An infringement - no matter how unintentional - represents a financial risk, sometimes to a considerable extent. Those who know and minimize this risk do not have to fear unexpectedly high costs due to an audit.

Cost optimization

How can the software be used efficiently? We illuminate all aspects of your software usage.

A core task of Software Asset Management is cost optimization. Optimal licensing goes further than "just" ensuring compliance. It is about choosing the most cost-efficient licensing, taking into account technical and administrative requirements.

Compliance

Continuous evaluation of the software in use ensures compliance with licensing regulations. 

Software Asset Management also places high demands on data security and data protection. In some cases, it is also necessary to involve the works council - especially when it comes to user-related software and its evaluation (keyword metering). The goal is always to process as little data as possible, but as much as necessary. This results in improvements for organizations in data transparency and in the central availability of information, e.g., through integration into a SAM tool.

Process Management

Processes and responsibilities must be clearly defined so that no risks arise from errors or ignorance. 

Software Asset Management is itself a continuous process, in which roles and responsibilities are defined and information is passed between people, systems and interfaces. Often, all relevant information for effective SAM is already available, it just needs to be identified, shared and interpreted correctly.

Webcast: "Goodbye IBM Audit - Maintaining Compliance Proactively and Cooperatively with IASP Software".

With the IBM Authorized SAM Provider Program (IASP), IBM has created the possibility to permanently ensure your correct licensing within the framework of a service provider contract. IASP is therefore an interesting alternative to IBM compliance audits. Together with IBM and Anglepoint, we have organized a webcast on this topic, which you can now watch here.

Watch webcast free of charge

A selection of our customer projects

In numerous customer projects we have already implemented individually to software license advised. Read the reference stories here:

Contact us now!

We would be happy to advise you in a non-binding conversation and show you the potential and possibilities of Software Asset Management. Just leave your contact details and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

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Michael Bohlen
Director IT Asset Management (ITAM)TIMETOACT Software & Consulting GmbHContact
Meriton Rama
TIMETOACTContact