3 Significant Software Asset Management Challenges CIOs Need to Overcome

CIO Applications| Monday, September 14, 2020

A modern organization’s IT environment can be comprehensive, and this is due to it being in a state of flux. It increases the complexities pertaining to effective software asset management

Fremont, CA: Software Asset Management (SAM) concerns tasks related to the management and enhancement of software assets and costs for a business. It adds audit readiness competencies, enhances IT procurement and expenses, clears license position, and avoids penalties for non-compliance. This is a series of ongoing processes and activities across all stages of a software asset’s lifecycle.

Here are three major software asset management challenges CIOs need to overcome:

Reactive Instead of Proactive Approach

A lack of preparation for audits shows that an organization is unsure of what the results of its audit will be. This means organizations will be shelling out thousands and millions of dollars for the penalty for lack of compliance.

A proactive approach to SAM will help the organizations to know their license position in advance and reduce the risk of penalties.

Unnecessary Information during Discovery

Software assets are identified during the discovery stage of SAM. Often, discovery tools gather unnecessary information instead of tracking relevant software. This information can be large volumes of unwanted data that the IT or SAM team needs to filter through and find which is relevant.

Today, many software applications automate discovery and remove the unnecessary information significantly, saving time and effort.

IT Environment Flux

A modern organization’s IT environment can be complex, and this is due to it being in a state of flux. It increases the complexities pertaining to effective software asset management.

Cloud applications and services also have differences in handling licenses and monitoring the compliance position and implementation levels. An organization’s IT estate may have already changed, leaving the compliance status doubtful. This generally happens when an organization has a manual system for monitoring their IT estate and licenses. This issue can be tackled by a system that offers real-time visibility.