Software Asset Management (SAM) Blog

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has launched a new Software Asset Management(SAM) programme will give Partners the skills to deliver
SAM services to their customers.

the programme will start as a pilot shortly and will be followed soon after with a full roll out taking place over the course of next year.

The SAM Advantage is a world wide SAM programme built on standards issued by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).

The programme, which is customisable to cater for differing levels of comprehension, benefits from the support of a number of the world’s
leading software vendors. The programme was developed in response to the ISO/IEC 19770-1 SAM standard published two years ago by the ISO.
It will be conducted by a mixture of resellers and SAM practitioners.

BSA chief executive Robert Holleyman said: “BSA SAM Advantage is being designed to provide all parties with the knowledge and support they
need to adopt world-class practices in software asset management through a flexible, step-by-step process.”

The programme contains four tiers which vary in the level of detail covered. The first tier aims to provide a basic framework for implementing
SAM and covers license compliance requirements while the second covers effective management. The third looks at integrating SAM into key operational processes while the fourth tier covers complete systems integration and full compliance with ISO/IEC 19770-1. Advantage is targeted at software users and publishers, as well as IT managers and resellers.

Peter Beruk, the BSA’s senior director of compliance marketing, claimed SAM adoption has been hamstrung by a lack of ubiquitous standards.
“SAM practitioners have made great strides in recent years. But, until now, there has not been a consistent, authoritative approach that is
easy to implement. BSA SAM Advantage fills that need,” he said.

Microsoft has created and announced the SAM Optimization Model to help organisations assess
their current SAM programs and to set goals for future program improvements. This model is
based on the ISO/IEC 19770-1:2006 standard and is a stepping stone to conformance with that
standard. The details of the program will be presented in more detail at the Microsoft Worldwide
Partner Conference the week of July 7, 2008.

For more information on the SAM Optimization Model, please see Michael Beare’s web cast at the
Microsoft Momentum site:
http://msevents.microsoft.com/ (http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032369765 EventCategory=5 culture=en-US CountryCode=US)
EventID: 1032369765

The latest CIO Index Survey of 145 IT directors across the UK has found that Software Asset Management was the biggest single area of technology adoption in 2007.  More than half of respondents said they had deployed some form of SAM initiative in the last year, with a further 19 percent conducting pilot studies and 14 percent reviewing the business benefits.

One reason cited for the increased adoption is a greater focus on compliance efforts by leading software vendors, but there is also a better understanding of the positive aspects of SAM.

Read more on Computer Weekly

 The ISO SC7 SAM study group is inviting SAM Practitioners to provide feedback and influence the development of SAM standards.
Several major industry bodies are helping with this survey, including itSMF international who have posted it on their web site.
 

Make your contribution count! Are you involved in assessing any aspects of software asset management or related processes or service management? A new industry-wide study of SAM assessment has been commissioned by ISO/IEC JTC1/SC7 and your opinions are invited. Click the button below for your chance to input to international standards development

Access the ISO survey