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 inestment and and software in 20 but increased inestment 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 hae the potential to sae ˆ0‰ on new technology for the sa­e of innoation could introduce their annual spend while realizing millions in cost aoidance by disruptie threats if organizations don’t fortify their software optimizing software licenses improing contract negotiations asset management €SAM‚ initiaties as well as eliminating audit penalties ƒhy„ …yber threats are nonstop †ncreasing software audits Šet many †T leaders hae still not embraced the concept of hae 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 moe 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˜clusie surey 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 initiatie More than half of respon Viewpoint on Software Asset Management: Time for a Reset? dents €““‰‚ indicated the practice of SAM was a tactical research uneils where leaders are missing the mar­ why it’s initiatie 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 Twentythree percent €2ˆ‰‚ iewed SAM as What Gets in the Way? “nice to hae” but not necessarily a priority According to †šG Research an alarming ¤2‰ of respondents Although —‰ of …leel e˜ecuties iew SAM as a way to hae not yet created or implemented a formal SAM strategy optimize software deployment only 2—‰ of directorleel 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 improing SAM ›†G¥R‘ POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF SAM systems and data integrity and security €—™‰ of …leel 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 aoiding 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 aerage according to šeloitte companies voiding % can e˜pect to achiee between “‰ and 2“‰ annual saings on compliance irregularities application costs by implementing a robust SAM program ealiing 2% cost savings šespite the recognized upside to SAM practices respondents ptimiing 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 šae šawson a principal and global software operational efficiency asset management leader in šeloitte Ris­ and ›inancial Adi Improving ability to identify 22% sory part of šeloitte œ Touche žž’ in an interiew to discuss the product rationaliation opps findings “Most companies use the e˜pertise they hae in the ainingmaintaining long term 21% best way they can but they don’t hae people who understand control over software assets endor licenses and contracts at the depth they need to ” Improving software 1% Žoping to sole 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 een enhance business decisions tougher tas­ †T leaders should as­ themseles: Improving budgeting process 1% • ƒhat does my SAM success loo­ li­e„ and financial controls • šo † hae the right people with the right s­ills in place Improving the management 1% now to drie an effectie SAM process and framewor­„ of vulnerability risk • šo † hae the right technology that enables my team to €nhancing 1% drie the right outcomes„ user e‚perience • Žow do † measure RŸ† that ¢ustifies my SAM inestment„

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 hae 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 relatiely high of actions oer the ne˜t 2 months: mar­s for helping reduce legal operational and security • Ma†e ‡roˆesses ‰ore effiˆient €cited as most ris­s particularly from …leel respondents Žoweer important by 2—‰‚ companies are less confident in their ability to optimize soft • InŠest in teˆhnoƒo‹y €2ˆ‰‚ ware spend €ˆ™‰‚ improe 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 inestments 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 hae the mentation and leeraging thirdparty adisors 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 endorspecific licensing ­nowl and ­nowledge of processes is a precursor to formalizing an edge general licensing and contract terms and a good effectie SAM roadmap and strategy understanding of †T infrastructure and software discoery 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 inhouse especially strategic priority because when it comes to coering 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 hae high”uality data on software assets across the enterprise to drie better decisions That data si‹nifiˆant finanˆiaƒ anŒ can proide the ultimate lift when it comes to endor negotiation €which could sae you millions of dollars‚ “That’s the biggest crown ¢ewel” says šeloitte’s šawson o‡erationaƒ ‚enefits “†f you don’t hae good clean data about the software employed in the enironment 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 oersubscribed 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 haen’t felt ware uncoer outofcompliance 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 eery piece of software and for eery proider 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 delier the greatest potential saings to ties 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 leer in the oerall †T SAM leerage SAM disciplines as part of other ­ey arsenal for deliering muchneeded isibility and controls initiaties such as moing to the cloud or boosting oerall for managing application sprawl Žoweer †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 hae a hard time protecting it” in order to increase cost saings and reduce enterprise ris­ “†f you don’t ­now what e˜ists in the organization you’ll hae a hard time protecting it †f SAM data is used to support …†Ÿs’ initiaties 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 surey respondents were re”uired to wor­ in an †Trelated function in a …leel §’ or directorleel role Most respondents €™“‰‚ are employed at a company with 000 employees or more ¨ualified respondents are employed in targeted erticals: Technology¦ ›inancial Serices¦ Žealthcare¦ Retail ƒholesale and šistribution¦ and Transportation A total of 0ˆ ”ualified respondents completed the surey