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In recent blogs, we have dived into how software asset management (SAM) can help keep your network safe. SAM can help accomplish and manage many areas of business. But how does this happen?
If you’re at the beginning of your digital transformation then you’ve likely heard about IT visibility, network monitoring, or observability solutions. All three are ways of making sure your IT teams, or any other team, can look at what is happening anywhere in your network at any time – a huge boon for security and asset management. Essentially visibility means just that – a visual of your network (generally presented on a dashboard) that provides usage, access, and other information helpful for IT teams.
Originally, when networks were more simplistic and a firewall served as adequate security, network monitoring was the priority. However, as companies adopt more cloud technology and software, IT visibility – and the more advanced version, observability – are what companies want. With end-to-end visibility, the mean times to discover and resolve issues can be reduced. In this blog, we are going to dive a bit deeper into the benefits of network visibility as well as how SAM can be improved when properly integrated.
The process of discovering, verifying, and managing information about your organization's technology estate is known as IT visibility. Stakeholders across the business can use this information to meet a variety of business requirements, including cost management, risk management, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance. A recent IDG report found that, when ranking concerns regarding the IT asset environment, security and compliance vulnerability tops the list. In fact, 44% of companies surveyed listed security and/or compliance vulnerabilities as their main concern and the main reason for adopting network visibility solutions.
This is because IT visibility goes beyond just the IT stuff. As we mentioned, nearly every department can benefit from visibility in some way. A simple example: every department in a company has a separate budget. With visibility, each department head can view the network usage of its team members to determine if their software costs are in line with actual usage. If they are not, they can address this and trim their budget in that area. When combined with a SAM, the stakeholder can gain even more insights to further tailor their budget as needed.
Software Asset Management (SAM) domain has a famous saying, “You can’t manage what you don’t know, but what you don’t know can hurt!” In other words, a robust SAM program can help you manage your assets effectively providing your business with the knowledge of what assets the company is paying for, where they are coming from, and whether they are necessary or not. Without a robust SAM program, your business could be paying for unused or redundant subscriptions, paying for premium assets that may be unnecessary, or paying for counterfeit assets that could pose major security risks.
Incorporating SAM with IT visibility provides even more clarity into your assets. For instance, who is using the asset, what device(s) are they accessing the asset from, how often is it used, what security risks does the asset pose when incorporated with other assets, etc. With full visibility into your network, you can see where usage and access are coming from and how the network is used – more monitoring capabilities than SAM alone offers. Combined SAM and IT visibility provide a depth of knowledge that can provide valuable insights – leading to decreased costs, increased issue resolution, and greater ROIs.
When combining the two, you are left with several benefits that can provide more in-depth insights to increase ROIs and address issues. Here are some of the key benefits:
1. Scoping – You have the luxury of determining the goals and objectives of the Software Asset Management program if you are not subject to an impending vendor investigation. When designing your processes, make certain that they are adequately resourced to match the SAM scope. For example, if IBM is a vendor in your scope and you have virtualized IBM installations, do you have ILMT installed and configured to effectively report in sub-capacity licensing? As you inventory your assets, the requirements for each software will be checked against the usage to determine if any action must be taken to remain compliant and to ensure you’re only paying for the assets you’re utilizing.
2. Data Gathering – Many organizations already use infrastructure management tools to inventory and discover assets, such as Microsoft SCCM or HP DDMI. Alternatively, organizations can deploy a SAM tool to all clients and servers in the infrastructure to do essentially the same thing. This is a simpler task when there is visibility into the network rather than trying to find the information needed in an opaque network.
3. Creating a single source of truth across the organization – While organizations have multiple data sources of inventory, it becomes more convenient to have one single source of truth used to make any decisions. This is essential when managing an organization's SAM practice. If different departments are operating off different data that does not line up, incongruences will become apparent that can be detrimental to the business in the long run.
Having an effective SAM process integrated with IT visibility allows you to take corrective action when you do find an issue with your assets as quickly as possible.
By partnering with Connor, you have the benefit of working with a partner that is an expert in SAM and prides itself on being able to produce the greatest ROI for your organization.
With the high frequency of cyber security attacks following the pandemic, as well as cloud adoption and tech transformation, now is the time to embrace a SAM program, or upgrade your SAM program. Schedule a time to meet with one of our SAM experts to learn more about how Connor can help you prepare for the future of business.
To learn more about our SAM services or to speak to an expert, please email us at softwareadvisoryservices@connor-consulting.com.
