Defrosting SAM Budgets With Managed Services

Defrosting SAM Budgets With Managed Services

ManageSoft are a key player in the Enterprise SAM market, I spoke to them last week about their recent developments and how they are extending the reach of ECM into the SME market via hosted SAM.

Of all the IT Projects to be frozen during a downturn, you would have thought a software asset management project (with a solid proof of concept and compelling business case put forward) would have been more important than ever. However many SAM related projects appear to facing a freeze when reaching board level.

Computing Magazine reported last week ‘Increasing Board Input for IT Purchases’ as one of the most popular methods for organizations to reduce IT costs in the coming months. So spending thresholds are lower, sign-offs go higher, and a board member who is not SAM-savvy and perhaps does not appreciate the amount of money spent of software licensing soon puts a kybosh on the whole project.

It is my guess that most SAM projects are positioned as capital expenditure, investing in the future, which is bottom of the priorities list for many companies at the moment. One alternative is to look at ongoing hosted software asset management services, which can sometimes be financed from operational budgets.

Whilst not ideal for all companies, hosted offerings are a relatively low risk route to kick start a SAM initiative and start developing some financial returns. Low risk because organisations investing in such a service do not have to worry about onsite installation, additional infrastructure costs, or ongoing maintenance and administration.

ManageSoft are delivering their hosted SAM solution via business partners. PC-Ware across Europe and ZettaServe in Australia are leading the way in providing ECM in their datacentres. Customers can benefit from managed SAM services including hardware and software asset recognition, software license entitlement, and contract management.

In your experience – where has a SAM project budget been allocated? have you any tips to share on ensuring your project wins approval?