Software Asset Management (SAM) Blog

Microsoft UK recently launch their Microsoft Software Asset Management Program, details for which can be found here.

It is a structured approach to implementing software asset managment with the assistance of on of Microsoft’s approved SAM Partners, a list of which can be also be found on their site.

At the end of the process the customer will get a certificate which will be valid for 12 months recognizing they have gone through the program and established their base line compliance position and should not expect to be contacted to undertake a Microsoft led audit over the next 12 months.

Be warned that any short fall of licences identified by this process will have to be addressed.

With Australian software piracy figures still at 31 percent, the software industry is stepping up its efforts to tackle piracy. The Business Software Association of Australia (BSAA) is doubling the potential reward for people who report the use of illegal software within Australian businesses.

According to research firm, IDC the piracy rate in Australia equates to AUS $480 million of lost revenue for software vendors.   Research also suggested that ethics are increasingly weighing on the minds of companies; with 42 pecent of businesses worrying that customers would turn away if they knew their supplier was using illegal software.

Analyst firm Gartner has predicted that increasing customer pressure to save costs will force many software vendors to lower their prices in the coming months.

Gartner vice president William Snyder said: “Up until now the unique nature of the software market has meant that buyers had very little negotiating power after the initial purchase of a software licence. We expect those dynamics to change considerably over the next five to 10 years giving CIOs and software procurement officers more bargaining power while potentially reducing software vendor profit margins.”

The firm also believes that, while Open Source won’t replace paid-for software, it will turn the screws on the likes of Microsoft and IBM and perhaps change the way reseller margins are structured in the future.

This is good news for organizations looking to improve their Software Asset Management practices, as the cost of truing up or re-negotiating volume licensing agreements looks set to fall.

Read more on ZDnet

Despite scrutiny into the real value of Microsoft’s three-year licensing deals, a recent panel of CIOs voted that Microsoft’s volume licensing agreements are good value for money. For some, the flexibility of the deals is critical, for others the additional services available swung the deal.

However, some CIOs are still critical of the vendor’s licensing, claiming that recent version enhancements from Microsoft have not been worth the pain of upgrading. Another call came for Microsoft and other leading vendors to standardize their licensing practices, making it easy for end users to understand different schemes.

More on Silicon.com