SAM is Dead, long live License Management

by Sean Robinson 18. April 2012 04:44
In 2006, I worked with a group of software industry specialists to help define an international standard for Software Asset Management (ISO/IEC 19770-1:2006). Based on ITIL best practice, this standard was developed to enable organizations to prove that they were performing Software Asset Management (SAM) to a standard sufficient to satisfy corporate governance requirements and ensure effective support for IT service management overall.  Since the launch of this standard, License Dashboard ... [More]

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SAM | Software Licence Management

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How much of a challenge really is the Entitlement side of the software license compliance equation?

by Sean Robinson 3. April 2012 08:08
Software license compliance is very much a two sided equation of usage versus entitlement.  The understanding of these two sides has similar levels of complexity and challenges in calculating. Often organizations can be distracted by the perceived capabilities of a license management tool and dramatically underestimate both the level of effort and licensing know-how that is still required to get the most from the chosen solution (let's be clear here, NO license management tool offers 100% a... [More]

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SAM | Software Licence Management

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UK organizations need to act now to avoid the risks associated with Microsoft's price increase announcement

by Sean Robinson 27. February 2012 04:43
Microsoft recently announced that it will be increasing its UK software prices in June 2012. This increase will have a major negative impact on an organization's IT budget, leading to many having to unexpectedly increase their software expenditure within an already tough financial year. With careful management of your license entitlements and effective control of your procurement process, however, we believe that if you act now, you can negate this risk and even go on to save significant amount... [More]

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SAM | Software Licence Management

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"At last, a service that really does make a significant difference!"

by Sean Robinson 15. February 2012 03:11
Over the last 10 years, I have project managed some of the largest Software Asset Management (SAM) projects in the UK. During this time, I have found the biggest challenge to most organizations is locating their historical license records.  Attempting to gather physical license evidence and find individuals who have worked within the purchasing department with a good recollection of all known license transactions is near impossible. Even those organizations that have kept reasonable records... [More]

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SAM | Software Licence Management

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Software audits continue to rise, says Gartner

by Sean Robinson 9. February 2012 06:35
Leading IT research firm, Gartner, has released figures showing a continued increase in the number of end user license audits conducted by leading software vendors, up from 61 percent a year ago to 65 percent today.  Put another way, this suggests you only have a 35 percent chance of going a whole 12 months without receiving at least one audit request from a software vendor.  Hardly good odds! According to attendees at recent Gartner events on IT Asset Management, Big Blue was the mos... [More]

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SAM | Software Licence Management

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Software piracy whistle blowers reap rich rewards

by Sean Robinson 12. January 2012 05:55
The US-based Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), which represents vendors in the software and digital content industries, has issued a press release stating that it paid out more 'rewards' to those reporting software and content piracy in the last quarter of 2011 than in the previous two years. While the US $35,500 paid out to five individuals is far less than the body's stated maximum incentive of $1 million per case, the fact that this is a record payout by the SIIA should... [More]

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SAM | Software Licence Management

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2012 will see more software audits - are you ready?

by Sean Robinson 10. January 2012 03:55
American law firm, Scott & Scott LLP, is predicting a significant increase in software audits in 2012.  The firm, which defends organizations under scrutiny, believes 2012 will see more audits from both software vendors and trade groups such as the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Software Information & Industry Association (SIIA). Scott & Scott report that they are already seeing an upsurge in the number of client calls regarding pending audits. You can read the press ... [More]

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SAM | Software Licence Management

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Are you a target for a software audit?

by Sean Robinson 6. December 2011 06:13
According to IT analyst firm, Gartner, the average organization now stands around a 55 per cent chance of being audited by at least one software vendor in any given 12-month period.  In plain English, that means you are now more likely than not to face at least one software audit in 2012. But what is it that makes you a target for a vendor software audit?  Is it just chance, or is there some method behind the vendors’ selection process? Research conducted earlier this year by gl... [More]

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Dubai-based Spectrami signs up to distribute License Dashboard products across Middle East

by Sean Robinson 5. December 2011 06:43
Spectrami, a leading value added distributor in Dubai has recently signed a distribution agreement with License Dashboard to sell License Dashboard License Manager, License Dashboard Discovery and SAM Portal solutions across the Middle East region. Anand Choudha, Managing Director of Spectrami, said, "License Dashboard gives a very revolutionary approach to license and entitlement management through self-service and mapping with existing SAM tools and license entitlement. It allows organization... [More]

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The third data set – the role of software metering in license management

by Sean Robinson 25. November 2011 03:47
When looking at improving the management of software licenses across the organization, we typically talk about the reconciliation of two distinct data sets:  the software audit/inventory data from PCs and servers on the network and the entitlements held in the license repository.  After all, when you know what is installed on the network and how that relates to your current license entitlements, you can start to identify areas where you have a potential licensing shortfall as well as a... [More]

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After completing more than 600 projects in the last 6 years and being directly involved in the development of the International Standard for Software Asset Management (ISO/IEC 19770-1), Sean Robinson is now regarded as one of the leading authorities in Software Asset Management (SAM). Currently as Director for License Dashboard Ltd, Sean continues to be responsible for the development of the leading software license management tool, License Manager.

FAST, the Federation Against Software Theft Ltd, has recently appointed Sean Robinson, to its Board.

FAST is the UK not-for-profit organization that promotes the legitimate use of software, focusing on educating business users, promoting standards, lobbying the Government for intellectual property (IP) protection and ensuring copyright compliance for the health of the industry.