In today's business environment, quality software is one of the most vital assets in which a company invests. By taking a proactive role in software asset management (SAM), you can help to ensure that you're getting the most out of your software investments. Because quality software is such a crucial component of your organization, it's surprising how often software management is overlooked. Software asset management protects your organization's software inventory. It helps you recognize what software you have, determine what you need to buy or license, and decide how to best use your software at each stage of the product life cycle. On This PageWhat is SAM?SAM helps protect your software investment by providing a way for you to track what software you own, where it's running, where it can best be utilized, what overlap you might have, and what's needed in terms of licensing documentation. SAM also helps provide your people with the information they need to make the right software decisions. A good SAM program can help give you financial security from unexpected licensing costs. SAM can also help to provide tax benefits associated with software depreciation. What are the benefits of SAM?SAM can help you effectively manage, control, and protect the software assets in your organization—throughout all stages of their life cycles. Helps increase productivity and reduce costs. | • | Helps reduce the time and cost of desktop support management. Backup and recovery systems are easier to maintain when it's clear what software goes where. And standardizing desktops can help dramatically reduce support costs. | | • | Helps give your people the tools they need to do their jobs and more. SAM can provide key information that helps managers and employees justify their software needs. This knowledge can help boost overall productivity, help ensure deadlines are met, and help to increase general job satisfaction. | | • | Helps get your people and your business working more effectively. By standardizing software versions, file-sharing issues can be reduced and communication can be made easier throughout your organization. This can help users to work together smoothly, which can lead to increased productivity. |
Helps track and manage your software. | • | Helps decrease risk of implementing new solutions. With SAM, upgrades, virus protection, and patches can be automatically identified. This can save you time and help to reduce hassles for your information technology (IT) department and for the employees using the software. | | • | Helps reduce waste and redundancy. Thorough software reconciliation is an important step in any good SAM plan. The reconciliation will show software that's not being used but is still being maintained. Such software can then be removed and used elsewhere, along with its associated license.* |
* Please note that certain license agreements may limit the transfer of software. Check your agreement(s) before transferring software. Helps gain peace of mind. | • | Helps reduce liability. A proper SAM program helps reduce legal liabilities that can result from poor licensing practices. It helps prevent potential damage to your reputation that could arise from a lawsuit. | | • | Helps decrease unapproved software downloads and the potential viruses that often come with them. In addition, by tracking all your software assets, you'll have detailed information for good backup and recovery plans should the need ever arise. | | • | Helps keep your data safe. SAM will help to ensure your data is protected and that you have a proper disaster-recovery plan in place. | | • | Helps comply with corporate governance. There are two basic steps toward ensuring good corporate governance: identifying the risks, and controlling and mitigating these risks. SAM can help you identify and control your software risks. |
Learn how you can ensure you are running genuine Microsoft licensed software
Watch animated videos to see scenarios where customers are at risk of finding themselves in a non-compliant position they did not intend, or even of becoming victims of piracy. Get the facts you need to make informed decisions that are best for your business, and learn recommended solutions for your company. How do I get started using SAM?SAM may seem like a daunting task. But actually, you can learn everything you need to know through these four easy steps. Step 1—Perform a software inventory. This is the first step to understanding your software assets. There are two main techniques to perform a software inventory: manual and automatic. Step 2—Match software with licenses. Now that you know which software titles are installed on your company's PCs, it is time to match the software with the licensing documentation. Step 3—Review policies and procedures. Establishing and following good policies and procedures for software use and license acquisition is a vital part of the entire SAM process. It's critical that your company have its policies and procedure in place. If you already have this documented, now is a good time to review and update them as necessary. Step 4—Develop a SAM plan. The final step in the SAM process is to develop a plan of action: Create a plan, analyze software needs, set up software training, and determine an inventory schedule.
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