Software is an indispensible tool in the operations of businesses and organizations of all types and sizes. But managing it can be a challenge. Companies without a systematic process in place to administer their software assets may buy too many licenses — unnecessarily draining financial resources that could be put to better use — or too few, thereby exposing themselves to fines and to security risks that could damage their technology infrastructure.
The solution is software asset management (SAM), the business practice of managing and optimizing software purchases, deployments, maintenance and utilization throughout an organization.
Yet many companies, vendors and SAM practitioners have different understandings of how best to implement a SAM program. A wide variety of SAM services is available in the marketplace, but until now there has been no standardized methodology for implementing a program, or reference models or benchmarks for measuring success.
That is why BSA is launching SAM Advantage, a new, first-of-its-kind SAM program that is fully aligned to the ISO Software Asset Management standard. SAM Advantage teaches users how to build a best-practice, standards-based software asset management program; proactively and effectively manage their software assets; increase IT efficiencies and control costs; and identify and reduce IT risks.
The value proposition is simple: “Manage your assets. Minimize your risk. Maximize your returns.”
SAM Advantage is a comprehensive, scalable, online training course that is unique because it is structured in tiers, giving organizations the freedom to pace their SAM adoption and the flexibility to build a SAM program tailored to their needs.
SAM Advantage leverages BSA’s 20-plus years of experience in the IT field and builds on input from leading software vendors and SAM practitioners. We believe it will be a critical training tool for practitioners and for all organizations that want to control their costs, increase security and reduce potential risks associated with their IT assets.
To learn more about BSA’s SAM Advantage program please visit: www.bsa.org/samadvantage
