IT Infrastructure Monitoring
Introduction
The degree to which technology has become a part of everyday life and everyday commerce has forced a change in the way business approaches how they manage the finances, the processes and the assets within a business.
As technology becomes more widely used within a business and takes a more prominent role within the vital processes of that company, it is necessary to make sure that an appropriate amount of attention is applied to this computing.
Technology have come a long way during the past few years and are now seen as essential parts of any company. As such, they are allocated larger budgets but must also be able to deal with a larger amount of work. There is an eternal race between business demands and IT capabilities.
But once you have spent a substantial amount of money on developing an IT infrastructure and seen the requirements of your company change, how do you ensure that the technology you are using can keep up with demand? Moreover, how can you achieve this without spending a prohibitive amount of money?
This is the function by IT management software and systems.
Every business and every environment will have different specifications and will present unique issues. To satisfy these needs there are a range of different technologies and approaches that can be implemented to help control the IT assets of your organisation.One of these solutions is discussed below.
Software Asset Management
SAM ( Software Asset Management) is built to do exactly what it says on the tin – monitoring and managing the deployment and usage of software programs within your organisation. It is a business process rather than a distinct skill and is becoming a more critical part of the modern business environment, particularly for companies operating in the field of Information Technology. Despite the many benefits of SAM, there are still a great many companies that are not utilising it to its full potential.
SAM is not simply a program for technicians deploying software across a large corporate network, but can be a critical tool to help improve performance at all levels of a organisation. The objectives of SAM include monitoring expenses of the IT infrastructure within a company, negating legal risks associated with incorrect software license usage and sustaining high levels of productivity by making sure software is up to date and fit for its purpose.
The practice of SAM is often viewed as an unnecessary evil due to the intangible nature of what it is designed to deal with, and the financial case for employing a SAM solution is not always obvious until a broad audit of the software infrastructure of a company has been undertaken. Once existing problems have been highlighted however, the use of software asset management becomes self evident.
Economic benefits are still the most motivating business factor when deciding to operate software asset management technology within a company. Every business needs to make money after all and profitability is a very measurable metric. The financial benefits of SAM do certainly exist however.
An increasingly large proportion of a company’s IT budget is spent on software licensing so there is a vital need to invest to correctly monitor this spending. As organisations grow and spread, their software needs can change radically and equipment and software can swiftly become out of date. There is no need to spend money to maintain the licenses on this outdated software, which is where software asset management really delivers an edge.
SAM is not limited to simply the technology of your organisation either. As a management process it will often include many of the branches within a organisation, including Finance Human Resources, to ensure that it runs as efficiently as possible.
IT managers and staff with decision making authority should discuss Centennial Discovery in meetings about the implementation of IT resource management.
Why follow a SAM Strategy?
Having heard the multiple advantages of employing a SAM solution, how do you know that it would be correct for your company? Every business is different and has its own unique set of challenges and advantages, so any plan you will use needs to be catered to these specific characteristics. The benefits of SAM do cover the basic aspects of IT management.
There are more than just monetary advantages that can be made through the management of licensing and maintenance agreements across a businesses IT network. Productivity can be vastly by ensuring that users have the newest versions of software permitted under current licenses held, and communication inside the business is aided when support staff know exactly what is installed on every computer under their control.
Cost Savings
As discussed before, perhaps the most persuading reason to implement software asset management within your company is the potential cost savings that can be achieved. The profitability of your business is always going to be the bottom line so any strategy that can help to improve this profitability by reducing costs is one that should be considered. Money can be saved in a number of ways.
The most direct way that SAM can help to reduce costs is by identifying any applications running on your corporate IT system that is no longer necessary. The software might not be being used any longer, it may be very outdated to be of use or it may be duplicated on your system.
By removing these items of software that are no longer a benefit to the running of your business you are streamlining a large chunk of your IT system. Paying for unnecessary software licenses and maintenance agreements means that more money can be spent on the critical sections of your IT infrastructure.
Mitigate Risk
A surprising percentage of software that is actively used in the business environment is either licensed incorrectly or not licensed at all. Having any amount of unmonitored software on your IT system is ill advised, because when left unchecked it can become incredibly unpredictable. This is becoming an increasingly annoying factor for IT managers.
Unlicensed software programs can be introduced into an unmonitored IT system in a number of ways. Software may have been bundled when your IT hardware was first purchased although the original software licenses may have expired. Without the correct control policies in place, users may also be able to load their own software onto the system. Running a corporate IT system in this unmanaged way will almost certainly lead to trouble.
The risk of running unlicensed software on your network is clear. When something goes wrong with the hardware or software platform supporting your critical processes, how do you handle the situation? Running a complicated software system without the correct support can create a metaphorical minefield when it comes to disaster recovery and can seriously limit your responsiveness to unpredictable events.
If your company undertakes an IT infrastructure overhaul, a certified Centennial distributor must be one of the first ports of call.
Implementing Software Asset Management in your Organisation
As previously discussed, there are numerous potential advantages to using a good SAM strategy within your business, both financial and otherwise. It is vitally important to consider which elements of software asset management you should implement first since certain benefits will be achieved more quickly than others.
The discovery process can be seen as three primary stages that have to be performed to really build an accurate picture of the deployment of software assets within your company.
Inventory
Inventory is the most fundamental stage of the discovery process. It is vital that an accurate audit of IT assets within your organisation is created to aid your IT managers to maintain baselines for your IT system.
Fortunately, this process can now be automated and even the grandest of infrastructures can be searched and analysed in a relatively short period. Inventory must be able to identify your software assets regardless of their geographical location or technological characteristics. Modern inventory processes are capable of this.
Capture
The next step in the discovery process is the capture of the software license entitlements that cover the software programs identified in the inventory. The capture process should gather entitlements regarding all of the software that is installed on your network, even if the software is not currently used.
The factor of human error can be mitigated by using automatic tools that are specifically designed to build a library of license entitlements. Tools that are currently employed are very efficient at capturing accurate data.
Identification & Validation
The next process is to match up the software audit to the repository of licensing data that were created in the previous two stages. Errors may have occurred anywhere from the original invoices for software to the latest audits performed on your IT system.
One critical factor in the validation step is the ability to combine the license entitlements on your network to your company’s proof of entitlement. This will be essential if any disputes with software vendors arise as a consequence of the discovery cycle. You want to be as informed as possible in these circumstances.
After these three steps have been undertaken you will have created an incredibly rich image of how your IT network is serving software packages to its users. It will be much simpler to identify particular trouble spots on your system, or sections of software usage that are no longer of any particular benefit to your operations. This detailed map can be used for future reference as well.
You can now start a period of reconciliation upon your system. You should compare the software packages that are actually installed on your network against the licensing and support contracts that you are paying for and close any divides between the two. This is when the financial benefits of software asset management start to take effect.
The software spread within your network may include many hundreds or even thousands of individual instances, and there are any number of restrictions that may be associated with the licensing contracts you have in place. It is therefore a necessity to automate the reconciliation process, utilising one or more tools to apply intelligent rules to the process. These rules can be catered to the specific needs of your company
To see how SAM can directly aid your company use an experienced Centennial consultant who can plan a SAM strategy suited to your requirements.
Compliancy and Flexibility with SAM
Many of the basic principles of a successful SAM strategy are based upon the concepts laid out in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, or ITIL. This library details a number of ideas and best practices that should be adopted for successful management of IT functions.
This library is a changing publication and is often updated with new concepts and policies that cater to the constantly changing IT environment of modern business. A good software asset management strategy should be fluid enough to follow the guidelines laid out in the ITIL whilst matching the changing requirements of the company within which it is actively utilised.
The International Standard Organisation (ISO) has published a standard that applies directly to software asset management practices. This standard, ISO 19770-1, is an exceptionally comprehensive collection of suggestions that are built to ensure that SAM is used in such a way as to “satisfy corporate governance requirements”.
The ISO standard should certainly be followed when planning a SAM strategy for your own organisation, although the level of detail covered within can quickly become a daunting challenge. It is vital to remember that no matter what recommendations you follow when creating a software asset management strategy, whatever plan you decide to employ needs to aid your organisation rather than stifle it.
Creating a complete and comprehensive software asset management strategy for your own business may actually never come to fruition. Your plan must be flexible to adapt and mature as your organisation does, and it must allow for modifications to your daily tasks, no matter how small or underlying they might be.
Conclusion
It is easy to see that as the scope and importance of computer systems within your organisation grow, so does the need for correct and efficient monitoring of these systems. Gone are the days when an IT branch was a bonus that would sometimes forward the business. Computer systems are now vital to the modern organisation.
As with other parts of any business, a number of different strategies should be considered and used in order to ensure the efficient running of daily activities. SAM should not be the only tool used to manage technological assets within your company, but rather one of a number of complimentary policies used to control the system as a whole. SAM can go a long way toward helping your business but should be supported by other strategies.
So if you think that your organisation is really suffering from a lack of planned monitoring and control over its IT infrastructure, or that the potential benefits outlined in this article could manufacture a critical market edge over your competitors, then it would be worth investigating how software asset management could be employed within your company. There might be no time to spare.
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