Software Asset Management (SAM) Blog

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has simultaneously announced legal actions in both the USA and UK, totalling a reported US $256,000 (UK £155,000). According to BSA media releases, an industry materials firm in Florida and three separate businesses in London, UK were all found to be using unlicensed software.

Although the companies in question reportedly co-operated fully with the BSA in its investigation, the scale of the financial agreement is a strong indicator that the industry watchdog is taking a firm line with organizations that can’t prove they have a responsible and proactive approach to Software Asset Management.

The actual cost of the software is likely to be a relatively small percentage of the overall settlement, showing that getting your house in order prior to an audit is a much more cost-effective option.

FrontRange Solutions has launched a ten-question online self-assessment microsite for companies to compare their approach to Software Asset Management against industry best practices. The ‘FrontRange Analyzer‘ is free to use and confidential, giving users a full and frank appraisal of how they are doing against standards such as ISO 19770 and Microsoft’s SAM Optimization Model (SOM).

The self-assessment tools looks at everything from basic practices around software audit to how the organization deploys new applications onto the network. At the end of the process, the tool highlights key areas of both success and opportunities to implement improvements.