Software Asset Management (SAM) Discussion

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

Working Group 21

LATEST NEWS: 19770-2 Software Asset Management Tag

The third Working Draft of ‘ISO/IEC 19770-2 SAM Tag’ was released by the 19770-2 Other Working Group on 14 April 2008. This is available for public review until 11 May 2008. The full draft, together with the commenting template and instructions, in available for open distribution so long as it is without modification and without commercial charge. A copy is included in the ‘Downloads’ section of this website. A copy is also available from http://www.agnitioadvisors.com/19770-2-WD3/19770-2-WD3.zip

WORKING GROUP 21 INTRODUCTION

Working Group 21 (WG21) is the working group responsible for Software Asset Management at the ISO/IEC level. It is located within Sub-Committee 7 (SC7) of ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1( ISO/IEC JTC1).

David Bicket (of Deloitte, and also a director of Investors in Software - dbicket@deloitte.com.) is the acting convener of WG21. The British Standards Institution (BSI) provides administrative support for WG21. All members of WG21 are appointed by their respective national standards bodies, with Sweden and the United Kingdom having the most representatives. WG21 actively encourages people to take whatever steps are necessary to become formally involved. The precise way that this needs to happen varies by country, because each national standards body establishes its own policies and procedures for such selections. In the future, it is hoped to provide information on this web site about joining instructions for a number of countries so as to facilitate such participation. It is also possible to become a member of WG21 through a Category A Liaison (at the SC7 level, such as the itSMF) or through Category C Liaisons (at the WG21 level), and such Liaison relationships are currently being discussed with several international organizations.

WG21 normally conducts a physical meeting twice per year. One is in May, and is co-located with the plenary session of ISO/IEC JTC1 SC7. All working groups and special working groups have co-located meetings at this time, and the plenary session at the end - where the heads of national delegations each have one vote - decide on the progress or otherwise of various standards proposals. The second physical meeting each year is normally in October. Most of the working groups meet in a common location, but for cost and other reasons they may not all do so.

The ISO/IEC standard number which has been assigned to WG21 for SAM standards is 19770, with the opportunity to have different parts for the standard.

In an obvious move to promote adoption of Windows Vista, Microsoft has announced price cuts on the operating system to coincide with the release of the first service pack.

With 2008 expected to see more organizations (as opposed to home users) adopting Vista, software and network managers face the challenge of upgrading the IT estate with minimal disruption and unexpected expenditure. In this type of exercise, the role of both IT Asset Management and Software Asset Management is vital, helping the business understand exactly what is already on the network and what needs to be done to successfully complete the upgrade.

With upwards of 70% of IT projects running over time and/or over budget, getting a Vista migration wrong could be a costly and painful mistake.

For more information on upgrading to Vista, Centennial has prepared some simple advice, available here.

According to new research from Forrester, many organizations are still struggling with the complexities surrounding software licensing and pricing schemes.

The analyst  firm believes that Software as a Service (SaaS) and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) will help resolve some issues in the future, offering more alignment with customer business goals.

In the meantime, the message is clear that things are not going to change in a hurry and that businesses should make investments in technology and licensing expertise to mitigate any pain.