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Software Asset Management Organization and Processes

Given the expanding number of publishers, the challenges of maintaining expertise, and the need to integrate SAM tools, Software Asset Management is becoming more professional, requiring an efficient organization and robust processes.

Define and implement a structure for Software Asset Management

Poor SAM organization means increased costs and lost productivity. This is why since our creation, Elée has helped CIOs build effective SAM organizations.

How?

Our team has developed a scoring model to analyse the efficiency of your SAM organization and identify risks. Our knowledge of best practices allows us to understand and anticipate your challenges and to support you with decisive and effective change.

CASE STUDY: Global Energy Leader Creates Internal Network of SAM Managers to Optimize Software License Management

How to implement a unified approach to Software Asset Management across a multinational conglomerate?

Problem

Our client had multiple challenges:

The SAM group had a very limited view of the software usage rights of each subsidiary.
Only 3 out of 25 subsidiaries used SAM tools on a monthly basis.
Each subsidiary independently managed its license purchases and deployments.
Server virtualization was widely used across the organization, which added complexity to the calculation of the licenses required.
The organization had no consistent process for SAM.
The subsidiaries needed significant support from the SAM group to standardize processes and optimize licenses.

Elée’s approach

Our approach was to coordinate all internal SAM stakeholders to obtain a precise vision of the software deployed by each subsidiary. This enabled the SAM group to implement governance, processes and compliance inventories for each of the 25 subsidiaries.
Elée carried out several actions as part of this engagement:

Reorganizing a deep but fragmented procurement capability which spanned multiple subsidiaries
Performing four large-scale inventories: IBM, Oracle, VMware and Microsoft
Assessing software deployments and associated risks, both at the corporate level and the subsidiary level
Coordinating more than 50 stakeholders (buyers, lawyers, software asset managers, systems and databases managers, CIOs, etc.)
Creating a cost optimization plan and infrastructure action plan
Strategic and operational monitoring of action plans by subsidiary, with regular reporting and KPIs.

Results

Creation of global software asset management governance and process
Precise understanding of usage of software from four major publishers
Education of subsidiaries about software asset management
Implementation and monitoring of a worldwide software license optimization plan
Cash savings, cost avoidance, savings in operating and capital spending
As a result of the optimization plan, the organization avoided 96% of risks related to IBM, 89% of risks related to VMware, and 78% of risks related to Oracle.

Challenges related to organizing for SAM

What structure best suits my organization?

It is important to ensure that the organizational structure for SAM matches the technological, business and geographic coverage of software contracts within the scope of SAM, and that the structure is in harmony with other IT support functions such as IT procurement.

How do I compare to other organizations in my sector?

What are your competitors doing? Our organizational benchmarks can support you in your decision-making.

What are the highest-priority activities to improve my SAM maturity?

Optimizing SAM takes time and resources. Depending on your objectives and your scope, it is important to distinguish high-priority actions from long-term actions.

How should I do SAM?

SAM involves many stakeholders and is associated with several processes. Understanding the structure of your organization (data, resources, tools, skills, etc.) is therefore essential in order to improve your competence and optimally structure your approach to SAM.

Why choose Elée?

Elée provides expertise in setting up structures and processes related to SAM.

SAM inventory

Understanding of how SAM operates in the organization, taking into account the organization’s resources, tools, governance and processes.

Deliverable: Description of existing SAM processes

Diagnostic

Analysis of the maturity of SAM activities, processes and structures. This analysis is based on the elements collected in the “SAM inventory” step, compared with Elée’s knowledge of industry best practices.

Deliverables: Maturity diagnosis and risk mapping

SAM master plan

Based on the diagnostic analysis, we create a proposed structure for the new organization and a costed business plan. This roadmap will smooth the pathway towards SAM. We distinguish between recurring actions, such as inventories, and one-off actions, for example documenting processes.

Deliverable: SAM and business case plan

SAM processes

We formalize SAM processes according to best practices and the specific circumstances of your organization, especially the tools and resources available to you. We define a matrix of responsibilities related to SAM.

Deliverable: Macro or detailed processes and RACI matrix

Support for transformation

Elée offers technical assistance to implement the new organization and to support change management:

SAM work plan: initialization of priority sites defined in the work plan
SAM processes: process implementation (formalizing templates, stakeholder awareness, training, KPI monitoring)
Risk mapping: monitoring of the risk matrix by coordinating resources to set up remediation plans

Did it help you ?

If you want to go further, you can take a look on our training sessions

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