Application of software asset management on the rise
13 May 2011
88% of software vendors and 80% of their clients have formal programmes in place to manage software asset management (SAM) according to new research produced by Ernst and Young. However, today's findings confirm that despite the uptake in establishing SAM programmes, several gaps still exist which limit their effectiveness.
The report confirms with vendors that the main use of such programmes remains revenue generation, with 63% of respondents citing this as their number one reason for establishing SAM client programmes; closely followed (on 50%) by protecting intellectual property rights.
Ernst and Young's findings also provide insight into how software vendors choose customers on which to perform SAM audits.
75% of vendors surveyed confirm that internal consistency in purchasing patterns of software was the main prompt for them to consider audit proceedings. History of poor compliance and the size of the client also ranked highly - both categories were cited by 50% of vendors as being warning signs which would make those customers more likely to be given a SAM audit.
Commenting on the results Ian Blatchford Partner with Ernst & Young confirms "It is encouraging yo see that vendors and their clients are actively addressing the issue of licensing compliance. However, with IT infrastructure becoming more complex, and with a wide range of suppliers often across geographies, it is clearly becoming more difficult for both vendors and clients to monitor what's being used and where. This is becoming even more difficult with new developments such as cloud computing."
The findings also confirm how clients who are concerned about incurring significant additional costs through an audit, are increasingly embracing SAM, to take greater control over the use of software around their business. 90% of companies surveyed have a formal SAM policy in place and a similar percentage have a software inventory, while 80% have a software asset manager.
Direct cost saving and compliance were cited as the two primary reasons why clients execute their SAM programmes with 68% and 64% respectively reporting these as the two main objectives behind establishing SAM programmes.
The report confirms that whilst many organisations are attempting to manage their IT assets more effectively, there remain barriers for them to overcome in order for them to fully realise the benefits of such programmes.
Inadequate asset management tools were reported by 75% of vendors as the main barrier for their clients with an overall lack of understanding around compliance policies being cited by 63%. Complexity of software contracts and a lack of client management closely followed, with 50% of vendors citing these all as reasons why businesses may struggle to achieve compliance.