Deloitte CIO magazine article software asset management
CIO Magazine Article
Market Pulse ƒŽ†T‘ ’A’‘R Software Asset Management: Time for a Reset Global organizations are set to up their spending on technology ‡ut what if you could boost software inestment and and software in 20 but increased inestment doesn’t neces ensure the right protections„ ƒith a mature SAM strategy sarily translate into a good thing Simply pouring money into and program organizations hae the potential to sae ˆ0‰ on new technology for the sae of innoation could introduce their annual spend while realizing millions in cost aoidance by disruptie threats if organizations don’t fortify their software optimizing software licenses improing contract negotiations asset management €SAM‚ initiaties as well as eliminating audit penalties ƒhy„ …yber threats are nonstop †ncreasing software audits Šet many †T leaders hae still not embraced the concept of hae become the new norm And the riss associated with SAM strategy and function—which is fundamental to realizing software will only continue to hamper the way you moe your these tangible benefits business forward
Market 2 SŸ›TƒAR‘ ASS‘T MA£AG‘M‘£T: T†M‘ ›ŸR A R‘S‘T Pulse To chec the pulse on where SAM sits on the †T leadership †nstead they are opting to initiate the practice in a haphazard agenda and gain deeper insight into the biggest roadblocs fashion ersus taing a more holistic approach †šG and šeloitte conducted an e˜clusie surey of more This falls in line with ˆ‰ of respondents who said they don’t than 00 …†Ÿs and †T leaders across industries The Executive iew SAM as a strategic initiatie More than half of respon Viewpoint on Software Asset Management: Time for a Reset? dents €““‰‚ indicated the practice of SAM was a tactical research uneils where leaders are missing the mar why it’s initiatie aimed at helping meet specific business re”uirements time to hit the reset button and how to chart a path forward such as compliance cost controls or minimizing security and compliance riss Twentythree percent €2ˆ‰‚ iewed SAM as What Gets in the Way? “nice to hae” but not necessarily a priority According to †šG Research an alarming ¤2‰ of respondents Although —‰ of …leel e˜ecuties iew SAM as a way to hae not yet created or implemented a formal SAM strategy optimize software deployment only 2—‰ of directorleel personnel feel the same way There were other discrepancies in how both sets of respondents see the range of potential benefits from deploying a SAM program including improing SAM ›†G¥R‘ POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF SAM systems and data integrity and security €—™‰ of …leel e˜ecs s 2™‰ of directors‚ controlling costs and ma˜imizing the What are the most important potential benefits of full alue of software €—‰ s 2™‰‚ and aoiding compliance implementing a software asset management solution? irregularities €ˆ2‰ s 2™‰‚ Improving systems security, % data integrity, and data security What’s in It for Me? Controlling % The paybac is clear ƒith 22‰ of total †T budgets dedicated to software costs software spend on aerage according to šeloitte companies voiding % can e˜pect to achiee between “‰ and 2“‰ annual saings on compliance irregularities application costs by implementing a robust SAM program ealiing 2% cost savings šespite the recognized upside to SAM practices respondents ptimiing software see a ariety of obstacles holding them bac The most chal deployment and usage 2% lenging are a lac of internal software e˜pertise and difficulty Improving position to establishing clear SAM standards and framewors negotiate software licensing 2% “The lac of sills depth is probably the biggest gap” in a mature Increasing 2% SAM process says šae šawson a principal and global software operational efficiency asset management leader in šeloitte Ris and ›inancial Adi Improving ability to identify 22% sory part of šeloitte œ Touche žž’ in an interiew to discuss the product rationaliation opps findings “Most companies use the e˜pertise they hae in the ainingmaintaining long term 21% best way they can but they don’t hae people who understand control over software assets endor licenses and contracts at the depth they need to ” Improving software 1% Žoping to sole all your SAM woes with a software technology performance and scalability is not a realistic strategy nor is it a sound approach There are Improving data uality to 1% much broader riss and challenges and realizing RŸ† is an een enhance business decisions tougher tas †T leaders should as themseles: Improving budgeting process 1% • ƒhat does my SAM success loo lie„ and financial controls • šo † hae the right people with the right sills in place Improving the management 1% now to drie an effectie SAM process and framewor„ of vulnerability risk • šo † hae the right technology that enables my team to €nhancing 1% drie the right outcomes„ user e‚perience • Žow do † measure RŸ† that ¢ustifies my SAM inestment„
Market 3 SŸ›TƒAR‘ ASS‘T MA£AG‘M‘£T: T†M‘ ›ŸR A R‘S‘T Pulse What’s the Path to antifia‚ƒe „OI? †n order to reduce security riss maintain compliance with ƒhile organizations hae some confidence in their ability licensing agreements and decrease legal e˜posure †šG to reduce ris with their current SAM approach the path to Research found that organizations plan to prioritize a ariety ”uantifiable RŸ† is cumbersome SAM gets relatiely high of actions oer the ne˜t 2 months: mars for helping reduce legal operational and security • Ma†e ‡roˆesses ‰ore effiˆient €cited as most riss particularly from …leel respondents Žoweer important by 2—‰‚ companies are less confident in their ability to optimize soft • InŠest in teˆhnoƒo‹y €2ˆ‰‚ ware spend €ˆ™‰‚ improe software scalability and perfor • I‰‡ƒe‰ent SAM tooƒs anŒ other soƒtions €¤‰‚ mance €ˆ™‰‚ and create efficiency €ˆˆ‰‚ To bolster SAM efforts more than half of organizations with What’s NeŽt? a formal SAM function prioritized inestments in better To tae a strategic approach to SAM †T should follow these technology €“‰‚ while —‰ were interested in accessing best practices: leading practices to optimize SAM processes Those without a formal SAM function are more liely to focus on tool imple Peo‡ƒe first‘ Assess whether you hae the mentation and leeraging thirdparty adisors This indicates right team with the right sills and e˜perience in that access to the right people with domain SAM e˜pertise place including endorspecific licensing nowl and nowledge of processes is a precursor to formalizing an edge general licensing and contract terms and a good effectie SAM roadmap and strategy understanding of †T infrastructure and software discoery tools This critical step will help identify gaps and where you need to strengthen the SAM disciplines—by either SAM hasn’t become a hiring internally or woring with an outside endor to ramp up specific SAM sills that don’t e˜ist inhouse especially strategic priority because when it comes to coering the entire spectrum of enter prise software companies either aren’t Trst’orthy Œata is †in‹‘ ‡ad data could lead to maing the wrong decisions Mae sure focused enough on the you hae high”uality data on software assets across the enterprise to drie better decisions That data si‹nifiˆant finanˆiaƒ anŒ can proide the ultimate lift when it comes to endor negotiation €which could sae you millions of dollars‚ “That’s the biggest crown ¢ewel” says šeloitte’s šawson o‡erationaƒ ‚enefits “†f you don’t hae good clean data about the software employed in the enironment you can’t see the right or they haŠen’t feƒt the attributes that correlate to licensing terms ƒith bad data you mae bad decisions ” stin‹ of a ŠenŒor aŒit Teˆhnoƒo‹y is the ena‚ƒer‘ A single ersion of the truth helps to gain greater transparency and isibility into your software assets across the enterprise Automating this function can identify where †n general SAM hasn’t become a strategic priority because you’re leaing money with oersubscribed software companies either aren’t focused enough on the signifi where your ris points are with undersubscribed soft cant financial and operational benefits or they haen’t felt ware uncoer outofcompliance software and identify the sting of a endor audit “The cost of doing nothing or ulnerabilities ignoring things hasn’t been that high” says šawson Some “no’ yor ‰ost ˆritiˆaƒ ŠenŒors‘ šon’t try companies let SAM slip under the radar¦ others got away to boil the ocean and perform SAM practices on without being audited¦ and still others found other ways eery piece of software and for eery proider around the potential fines or penalties Segment the endor population and focus on the biggest
Market 4 SŸ›TƒAR‘ ASS‘T MA£AG‘M‘£T: T†M‘ ›ŸR A R‘S‘T Pulse and most comple˜ software deployments first Getting says šawson “†f SAM data is used to support …†Ÿs’ initia that right will delier the greatest potential saings to ties around security it’s a direct tie into strategic goals ” consolidate or negotiate better terms Then build out the SAM program from there The Botto‰ Line Tie SAM to other strate‹iˆ IT anŒ enter” †n the face of growing †T comple˜ity and digital transforma ‡rise initiatiŠes‘ šon’t do SAM in a acuum— tion SAM is emerging as a critical leer in the oerall †T SAM leerage SAM disciplines as part of other ey arsenal for deliering muchneeded isibility and controls initiaties such as moing to the cloud or boosting oerall for managing application sprawl Žoweer †T leaders should cybersecurity efforts “†f you don’t now what e˜ists in formalize SAM strategies and operationalize leading practices the organization you’ll hae a hard time protecting it” in order to increase cost saings and reduce enterprise ris “†f you don’t now what e˜ists in the organization you’ll hae a hard time protecting it †f SAM data is used to support …†Ÿs’ initiaties around security it’s a Œireˆt tie into strate‹iˆ ‹oaƒs‘” •aŠe •a’son ’rincipal šeloitte œ Touche žž’ About the Software Asset Management Research To ”ualify for this 2”uestion surey respondents were re”uired to wor in an †Trelated function in a …leel §’ or directorleel role Most respondents €™“‰‚ are employed at a company with 000 employees or more ¨ualified respondents are employed in targeted erticals: Technology¦ ›inancial Serices¦ Žealthcare¦ Retail ƒholesale and šistribution¦ and Transportation A total of 0ˆ ”ualified respondents completed the surey