Software Asset Management (SAM) Blog

FrontRange Solutions has now confirmed the following dates for its Spotlight On… Discovery & NetInstall webinars:

FrontRange Discovery - Nov 5th @ 11.00am GMT
FrontRange NetInstall - Nov 10th @11.00am GMT

Each webinar will last around 40 minutes and will show the solutions in real-life scenarios.

While many might have expected to see software spending in a steady decline, Gartner is predicting an average 1.53 percent rise in software spending in 2010 (0.45 percent in EMEA and 4.34 percent in APAC, offset by a 2.06 percent decline in the US). Twenty-eight percent IT professionals questioned by Gartner in US expected their overall IT budgets to rise next year (the EMEA figure was 25 percent).

The new research also suggests that customers are expecting their software investements to go further and deliver additional value to the business.

This is where SAM has an important role to play; ensuring that software purchases are ‘right’ for the organization and that assets are deployed effectively to those that most need them.

FrontRange Solutions (which acquired SAM solutions vendor Centennial Software in 2008) has launched its online “SAM Analyzer“, a quick self-assessment tool designed to help individuals and organizations understand if they are ahead of - or perhaps behind - the curve when it comes to Software Asset Management.

The SAM Analyzer comprises 10 simple questions to establish an organization’s current practices and attitudes. The answers are then collated, scored and used to create a tailored report for each participant.

It’s not exactly scientific, but if you’re interested to see how your organization fares, it’s worth a look!

www.frontrange.com/analyzer

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has revealed that more UK companies have settled out of court following allegations of software piracy. Companies in London, South Yorkshire and East Yorkshire have each paid undisclosed-but “significant settlements running into tens of thousands of pounds” for using unlicensed software.

Licensing infringements included the illegal use of software from Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft and Quark as well as the mis-use of ‘OEM’ and ’student’ versions of both operating systems and business applications.

Sarah Coombes of the BSA told reporters: “The BSA takes a firm line against the disregard of software licensing regulations.”

The BSA has recently targeted firms in Manchester and Glasgow and is committed to ramping-up anti-piracy efforts through 2008.