For most IT pros, it’s a constant struggle to manage their organization’s software licenses. In fact, just getting an accurate inventory of what’s installed requires a Herculean effort. But here’s the dirty little secret: software license management doesn’t need to be such a challenge.

This month, we’re offering a series of free webinars that can help you get a better handle on your organization’s software licenses, so you know exactly what’s installed, how it’s being used, and whether it’s legal. Don’t miss out!

1)  Software Identification: Understanding the Various Methodologies (And Why It Matters)
Wed, October 13: 11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern  (*** REGISTER NOW ***)

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Very nice blog post by Jenny Schuchert of the International Association of IT Asset Managers (IAITAM) concerning how to build the business case for IT asset management (ITAM).  In particular, I agree with her philosophy regarding the two general approaches to selling ITAM most likely to succeed. 

The first approach is to link ITAM to a particular event or known issue, and build the business case around resolving the issue or preventing such an event from happening again in the future.  Schuchert remarks that while this approach may not necessarily target areas where the most significant savings may be obtained, it may be the most politically savvy—and therefore practical—approach for obtaining buy-in from skeptics.  Plus, once a successful program is in place, the additional savings generally speak for themselves and will likely lead to subsequent reprioritization of program goals and emphasis. 

The second approach Schuchert mentions is to focus the business case on the multitude of ways a well-structured ITAM program can lead to cost savings, presented in terms of potential return on investment. This approach, if presented as a strategic initiative, is more likely to succeed among executive stakeholders that have demonstrated a commitment to exploring ways of uncovering long-term organizational savings. 

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Finally, some good news for the battered tech industry: The Big Chill is over. According to both Forrester and Gartner, IT spending in 2010 will continue to thaw, with Forrester expecting 8.4% growth in the U.S. and Gartner predicting 5.3% growth worldwide.  Though anticipated spending levels are hardly what I’d call “sizzling” compared to years past, after the IT spending freeze of 2008-2009, vendors and end-user organizations alike are no doubt happy to embrace a low, yet steady simmer. 

Both research firms expect hardware spending to lead the charge.  Here are some highlights from the research, as reported by Network World:

• In the U.S., computer equipment spending will see the largest rebound—around 11%—due to “replacement of old PCs, servers, and storage equipment.” (Forrester)
• Software spending in the U.S. will also see a healthy gain of 10.5%, resulting from deferred license purchases from the 2009 capital freeze, continued growth in the SaaS market, and other technologies such as SOA, virtualization software, and analytics. (Forrester)
• In the U.S. IT consulting services will grow at around 7%; IT outsourcing will trail the pack, with expected growth of only 3.8%. (Forrester)
• Consumer PC spending will account for around a third of the growth in hardware spending, driven in large part by mobile PCs; an additional ten percent of the gains in hardware spending will be fueled by Windows 7 migrations. (Gartner)

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It’s been a big month for the BSA. Since the beginning of March, the BSA has issued press releases documenting five U.S. settlements totaling close to $525,000 (see the list of losers below).  Over the years, I’ve attempted to ferret out patterns that would suggest certain types of organizations may be at higher risk of a BSA software audit; but as usual, the companies involved span a wide range of sizes, geographies, and industries.  The only common thread I can find among all five (aside from the predominance of Adobe and Microsoft software) is an identical string of text embedded within each press release: “BSA was alerted to the unlicensed software use by a confidential report made on its web site www.nopiracy.com.” (Read my recent blog post elaborating on this trend.)

Though it may seem self-serving for software license management vendors such as ourselves to continue harping on the importance of rigorous asset management practices, it’s clear that the message isn’t getting through to many end-user organizations.  In times fraught with layoffs, salary cuts, and a general sense of workplace malaise it’s not reasonable to assume businesses can successfully curb workers’ very human instinct to inflict reciprocal damage upon their impassive corporate leaders—especially when it can be done with the impunity of whistleblower status and the ability to claim the moral high ground. One thing companies can control, however, is the perpetuation of careless, if not downright reckless, software licensing practices. Business executives can add this to the ever-growing list of good reasons to insist upon the establishment of a thoughtful, comprehensive software asset management strategy. It may just be best way to break the BSA’s winning streak. 

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When the global economy first sank into recession, dozens of reports were published in which technology analysts speculated that software vendors would rely more heavily on software audits—and the resulting financial settlements—to compensate for lower revenues.  In tandem with this, organizations targeted by vendor audits were expected to have a higher rate of non-compliance because software asset management initiatives would be back-burnered—along with the true-ups that frequently come as a result—until budgets were once again secure.

So did these predictions bear themselves out?  From a philosophical standpoint, one could just as easily argue that software companies have a lot more to lose during uncertain economic times by terrorizing their customers.  But the answer would appear to be “yes,” at least in the United Kingdom, where a fair amount of research has been conducted on the topic. (I have yet to come across any specific research suggesting a US or overall global increase in vendor audits.)

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