It goes without saying that the next few years will be challenging for many businesses resulting from the pandemic. Looking at 2021 and beyond, we have a mountain to climb to return to normal business levels with some reports indicating that this might not happen until 2024 (BBC, 2020).

So, enterprise priorities will remain fixed on maintaining business continuity, looking after their workforce and optimising costs as much as possible.

In the world of Software Asset Management (SAM), cost optimisation is woven into the very fabric of its methodology. Avoiding, reducing, and optimising cost is a key deliverable of an effective ongoing SAM program.

What is SAM and why is it important?

Software Asset Management is a business practice that involves managing and optimising the purchase, deployment, maintenance, utilisation, and disposal of software applications within an organisation.

SAM is particularly important for large complex enterprises looking to minimise capex spend and optimise license reuse in conjunction with managing the commercial and legal risks associated with usage rights, contract compliance and audit exposure.

Anyone embarking on a SAM program with the intention of achieving success needs to be cognisant that there are three important elements to consider; people, process and tools.  To deliver a successful SAM program you require a unique combination of all three.

To illustrate this, the Version 1 SAM team have recently published our Software Asset Management Managed Services Guide that outlines the following:

  • The importance of Software Asset Management as a practice.
  • The benefits of a SAM Managed Service.
  • The range of SAM Managed Services available; the resources, methodologies, service delivery elements and outputs.

For those looking to dive straight into cost saving options take a look at the Version 1 SAM whitepaper on 12 Strategies for Optimising Enterprise Licensing Costs. This paper underlines the importance of software asset management processes and methodologies when proactively mitigating against and reactively resolving issues of non-compliance, allowing for organisations to optimise their software asset cost base on an ongoing basis.

Version 1’s SAM Managed Service Team has been delivering SAM Managed Services for our customers for over 20 years, helping them to reduce risk and cost in their license estate on an ongoing basis.

Learn more about how our SAM Managed Services can support your enterprise licensing cost optimisation objectives or contact us with any questions.