software exchange - software asset management guide

Software Asset Management Guide

© 2009 Software Exchange

Software Asset Management Guide Updated: April 2014

Many companies invest a huge amount of money on software, but lack the capability to manage their software assets properly. This could result in security, wastage, and legal issues.

Therefore, an increasing number of organisations are putting a proper software asset management (“SAM”) system in place. This guide is created based on our experience helping our clients out with SAM. Of course, our list mayn’t be complete – nevertheless it’s a start.


Benefits of Effective SAM 1 Improves IT investment forecasts

With SAM, you’d better understand the end-users’ software usage, better plan for software upgrades, and better plan for future hardware requirements. This overview would help improve your IT investment forecasts and enhance purchasing arrangements, thereby maximising your ROI.

2 Prevents over-deployment Over-deployment leads to under-licensing – that may lead to legal consequences.

3 Prevents over-licensing

Your purchasing department may be unaware of unused excess software licences available in your company. They could be buying additional licences upon end-users’ requests needlessly.

4 Avoids payment for maintenance of software no longer in use

There could be software products that are no longer in use, and your company could still be paying your vendors for them to be supported. SAM would be able to help you identify which those software products are.

5 Minimises security risks Some of your colleagues could be downloading file sharing software applications and they pose security hazards. An effective software inventory system can deter them.

6 Reduces pilferage of software licenses

Sometimes, employees leaving the company may take along with them software licences that belong to the company. Regular, proper software audit would help reduce such instances.

7 Ensures regulatory compliance

SAM helps your company get adequately licensed for your software use, thereby complying with the copyright law. As a result, your company won’t be caught using pirated software and sustain damage to its public image.


8 Signs Your Company Needs SAM How do you know if your organisation is at risk of using unlicensed software, and whether you need SAM? The following questions would help you assess your risks.

PLANNING ITEMS DONE REMARKS Yes No Unsure

1 Do you know the actual number of desktop PCs, notebook PCs, pocket PCs, and servers currently in use by your organisation?

2 Do you know whether you have a licence for all the software programmes installed on your systems?

3 Are you confident no employee has installed any unauthorised software programme in your company?

4 Did you acquire all your software products from trustworthy sources?

5 Does your company have a written policy for installing and copying software programmes and/or purchasing software licences?

6 Do you maintain an accurate inventory of software use and licence ownership?

7 Does the person responsible for software licence compliance or your IT vendor have specialised knowledge of software licensing issues?


8 Do you conduct regular checks to ensure the software you’ve installed is adequately licensed?

If you’ve answered either “No” or “Unsure”, your company is at risk – you should have a proper SAM system in place.


Software Exchange SAM Model After years of working with businesses on SAM, we’ve developed a model that’s proven to be effective. Our checklist is based on this model. Note: SAM should really be an on-going process as an organisation’s needs change over time. Figure: Agile Software Asset Management Model

Software Asset

Management

1.

Administer

2.

Audit

3.

Assess

4.

Acquire

5.

Aggregate


Establish a Corporate SAM Policy For a SAM system to work, your company should instill a culture that embraces the use of licensed software. Plus, spell out the rules and regulations of using legal software to be adopted company-wide.


1 Do we have a clear statement of policy on the use of licensed software?

2 Have we communicated this policy to all employees?

3 Have we determined how this policy should be enforced?

4 Do we have a “Use of Personal Computer Software” agreement that any new employee must acknowledge upon joining the organisation?


Audit Keeping an inventory of software used and licences acquired so as to determine whether your organisation is compliant, and ensuring you don’t purchase excess licenses.


1 Have we nominated a software asset manager responsible for maintaining our software asset management system?

2 Have we made a list of all desktop PCs, notebook PCs, pocket PCs, and servers being used by our company?

3 Have we identified the software programmes installed on all hardware? Record the product name, version number, and serial number for all software loaded.

4 Do we use a software inventory and asset management tool for data gathering?

5 Do we maintain a list of software licence inventory?

6 Have we matched the number of software installations we have made and the licences obtained?


Assess Acquiring adequate software licences required by your business.

PLANNING ITEMS DONE REMARKS

Yes No Unsure

1 If installations are found to be more than licences acquired, shall we uninstall the software programme from PCs that no longer require it or transfer the software licence from a non-user to a user?

2 If our company is still under-licensed after the appropriate uninstallations or transfers have been done, have we set a timeline to acquire the licences required?

3 If we are over-licensed, do we have procedures to ensure we do not purchase additional licences?

4 Are we working with a software licensing specialist who can advise us on the correct licensing option to acquire for our business needs?


Acquire Obtain genuine software products.


Yes No Unsure

1 Have we compiled a list of software supported by our company that our employees may request to use?

2 Do our employees need to get special approval before downloading software from the Internet?

3 Do we require all software purchases to be done by a central purchasing department?

4 Are we buying software from reputable sources?

5 Are we sure we are acquiring the right type of software licence?

6 Are we confident we are purchasing legitimate software products?


Aggregate Maintain a list of software products acquired and find a secure place to store them.


Yes No Unsure

1 Have we consolidated all software licences (comprising licence and proof of ownership/purchase documentation), installation media, and product serial numbers acquired and kept them in a safe place?

2 Do we regularly update our software licence inventory records?

3 Does the software inventory list help us in making clear software purchase decisions?

4 Do we review our hardware, software, and licence registers periodically (minimum once a year)?


Contact Us If you need help with software asset management, you may contact one of us in these countries: Singapore

Nick Tham Software Exchange (Singapore) Pte Ltd

Tel +65 6883 1411 Fax +65 6883 1410 Email [email protected] Malaysia

Sarah Yap Software EXC (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Tel +60 3-2145 1280 Fax +60 3-2145 1282

Email [email protected] Vietnam

Truong Hoang Lam Tel +84 8 3511 9465 Fax +84 8 3511 9470 Email [email protected]

This document is for informational purposes only. SOFTWARE EXCHANGE MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.