Strategies and Tactics
18 October 2011
What are the criteria you use to justify and guide an IT purchase? Maybe it would be more appropriate if I ask
What are the criteria you use to justify and guide an IT purchase? Maybe it would be more appropriate if I ask
11 October 2011
Companies of all sizes and in virtually every country are being constantly exposed to punitive - and very cost
Companies of all sizes and in virtually every country are being constantly exposed to punitive - and very cost
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BSA Releases 2010 Global Piracy StudyÂ
After all these years, we're STILL not sure how accurate this software industry-funded study might be. The real key seems to be, not that the study exists, but that the underlying details for how it is really developed are consistently kept secret. There certainly seem to be plenty of highly credible detractors - including the U.S. Accountability Office - but nobody with the advertising clout to challenge the document in the "court of public opinion." What is absolutely chilling is that an enormous percentage of regulations and mouthpieces are touting the study as gospel - without so much as a "And how did you say you got your figures?" consideration for factual evidence. Keep up the great work BSA. It pays to advertise.Â
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Do you Uninstall Eval Products?
Fair warning: Software asset management practitioners have consistently reported that some of the most frequently cited violations of license compliance during a punitive software audit (or a software piracy audit) have been related to so-called "limited license" products. While we should all agree that the software industry is doing us a favor (a self-serving one, but a favor nonetheless) by providing fully functional evaluation products, one of the invisible caveats is that those same products MUST BE REMOVED should we decide not to license them. Take a quick turn around your IT environment. Are there any evaluation products on systems after the end of the official eval period? If so, get them off. How about shareware licensed products? These are no different and must be either licensed or removed within a set period of time. Failure to uninstall (or properly license) a shareware product beyond the sample period is a violations of national, and possibly international, copyright laws.
Fair warning: Software asset management practitioners have consistently reported that some of the most frequently cited violations of license compliance during a punitive software audit (or a software piracy audit) have been related to so-called "limited license" products. While we should all agree that the software industry is doing us a favor (a self-serving one, but a favor nonetheless) by providing fully functional evaluation products, one of the invisible caveats is that those same products MUST BE REMOVED should we decide not to license them. Take a quick turn around your IT environment. Are there any evaluation products on systems after the end of the official eval period? If so, get them off. How about shareware licensed products? These are no different and must be either licensed or removed within a set period of time. Failure to uninstall (or properly license) a shareware product beyond the sample period is a violations of national, and possibly international, copyright laws.
Reduce IT Costs - Eliminate Auto-Renewal Support & Maintenance Contracts
Nearly every enterprise with anything more than a very basic IT environment has auto-renewing technology contracts in place. Unfortunately, what used to be a considerable value-added services on the parts of our suppliers has frequently evolved into a nightmare knot of fully legal potential sharp practices. The simple version is this: A small, but wealthy, minority of suppliers relies on the business technology consumer to neglect to monitor contractual details & deliverables, there-by paying substantial amounts of money for services never rendered.
Nearly every enterprise with anything more than a very basic IT environment has auto-renewing technology contracts in place. Unfortunately, what used to be a considerable value-added services on the parts of our suppliers has frequently evolved into a nightmare knot of fully legal potential sharp practices. The simple version is this: A small, but wealthy, minority of suppliers relies on the business technology consumer to neglect to monitor contractual details & deliverables, there-by paying substantial amounts of money for services never rendered.
To add insult to injury, many of these suppliers also embed automatic price increases inside their auto-renewal agreements. Those increases can reflect as much as 15%-25% or list price increases silently added on to your support or maintenance fees. What's more, these same poorly monitored contractual agreements can trap you in a continual cycle of notification games: Many enterprises have found themselves paying one or more un-wanted year of support &/or maintenance simply because they didn't properly notify the supplier of the intent to cancel.
There is considerably more to the auto-renewal vortex than we mention here. Consider spending an hour or so attending The Institute's brief online professional development session: Avoiding the Contract Auto-Renewal Money Vortex. You'll recover the cost of your membership as well as the cost of the course ten fold by adjusting a single contract to reflect your unique enterprise needs versus those of a single ethically-challenged supplier.
Caution: IT Asset Management is NOT a Spectator Sport
Successful IT asset management practitioners, whether they are software asset managers, hardware asset managers, compliance assurance practitioners, or full IT portfolio managers consistently agree that, in our business, "Those who can - DO." In many industries, individuals show up for a one to three day course, take a quick test and become instant experts in a field. The practitioner members of The Institute for Technology Asset Management understand the need for entry-level certifications but they have taken the next major step in building IT asset management credibility. Learn how you can convert your basic certification to a highly credible credential. The Institute is here to help you build a career in the asset management fields - no matter what industry; no matter what country; no matter what size enterprise or service you choose to support.
Successful IT asset management practitioners, whether they are software asset managers, hardware asset managers, compliance assurance practitioners, or full IT portfolio managers consistently agree that, in our business, "Those who can - DO." In many industries, individuals show up for a one to three day course, take a quick test and become instant experts in a field. The practitioner members of The Institute for Technology Asset Management understand the need for entry-level certifications but they have taken the next major step in building IT asset management credibility. Learn how you can convert your basic certification to a highly credible credential. The Institute is here to help you build a career in the asset management fields - no matter what industry; no matter what country; no matter what size enterprise or service you choose to support.
Book Reviews
Brink's Modern Internal Auditing
Brink's Modern Internal Auditing, 5th Edition. It never ceases to amaze me how frequently IT asset managers & others in or near our fields choose to re-invent processes & procedures that have already been well proven by a parallel professional organization. If you are willing to invest a few serious dollars, this resource (Brinks Modern Internal Auditing) is one of the best available. It covers nearly every aspect of conducting audits - Think in terms of CobiT, COSO, Sar-Box, PMI, & others. Added bonus: It's 100% supplier & product neutral. (Al Plastow)
Brink's Modern Internal Auditing, 5th Edition. It never ceases to amaze me how frequently IT asset managers & others in or near our fields choose to re-invent processes & procedures that have already been well proven by a parallel professional organization. If you are willing to invest a few serious dollars, this resource (Brinks Modern Internal Auditing) is one of the best available. It covers nearly every aspect of conducting audits - Think in terms of CobiT, COSO, Sar-Box, PMI, & others. Added bonus: It's 100% supplier & product neutral. (Al Plastow)
It Portfolio Management Step-By-Step
IT Portfolio Management Step-By-Step Bryan/ Handler, Robert Maizlish. This text is an excellent resource for those who want to look at IT asset management from a macro perspective. Among other things, it's chock full of the statistics you need to justify implementing an IT or software asset management initiative. You'll also see sources from such groups as Gartner & (gasp) Meta. (Al Plastow)
IT Portfolio Management Step-By-Step Bryan/ Handler, Robert Maizlish. This text is an excellent resource for those who want to look at IT asset management from a macro perspective. Among other things, it's chock full of the statistics you need to justify implementing an IT or software asset management initiative. You'll also see sources from such groups as Gartner & (gasp) Meta. (Al Plastow)
Project Planning, Scheduling, and Control
A key problem for a majority of IT asset managers & software asset managers is that we tend to approach our initiatives in an ad hoc manner. If you intend to compete for scarce internal project funding & support, you may want to consider this text. Project Planning, Scheduling, and Control: The Ultimate Hands-On Guide to Bringing Projects in On Time and On Budget, Fifth Edition. Aside form the descriptive title, this is one of my most frequently recommended project management resources. (Al Plastow)
A key problem for a majority of IT asset managers & software asset managers is that we tend to approach our initiatives in an ad hoc manner. If you intend to compete for scarce internal project funding & support, you may want to consider this text. Project Planning, Scheduling, and Control: The Ultimate Hands-On Guide to Bringing Projects in On Time and On Budget, Fifth Edition. Aside form the descriptive title, this is one of my most frequently recommended project management resources. (Al Plastow)
Conflict Resolution
Anyone who is experienced technology asset management, software asset management, or project management is aware of the constant friction surrounding the changes they must initiate in the enterprise. Understanding "Conflict Resolution," even at a minimal level, will help you "keep the peace" (and quite possibly your job) as your initiatives & projects begin touching on the entire enterprise culture (and beyond). (Al Plastow)
Anyone who is experienced technology asset management, software asset management, or project management is aware of the constant friction surrounding the changes they must initiate in the enterprise. Understanding "Conflict Resolution," even at a minimal level, will help you "keep the peace" (and quite possibly your job) as your initiatives & projects begin touching on the entire enterprise culture (and beyond). (Al Plastow)
COSO Enterprise Risk Management
Project management, IT asset management, and software asset management are fraught with risks. Unfortunately, very few asset managers have training in identifying & managing risks. This resource (one we use in our courses) will help you get started with a well-proven risk management framework / process - without having to re-invent the wheel. (Al Plastow)
Project management, IT asset management, and software asset management are fraught with risks. Unfortunately, very few asset managers have training in identifying & managing risks. This resource (one we use in our courses) will help you get started with a well-proven risk management framework / process - without having to re-invent the wheel. (Al Plastow)
Getting to Yes
Prior to The Institute, the average software asset manager and/or IT asset manager received less than 1.5 hours of negotiation training as part of their certification. We're changing the paradigm. At The Institute, we use "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In" as one of our primary resource texts for our negotiation series. (Al Plastow)
Prior to The Institute, the average software asset manager and/or IT asset manager received less than 1.5 hours of negotiation training as part of their certification. We're changing the paradigm. At The Institute, we use "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In" as one of our primary resource texts for our negotiation series. (Al Plastow)
ITIL V3 Guide to Software Asset Management
This resource is relatively simple in scope but it provides a basic technician's perspective on managing software assets. As with anything ITIL, it's a bit pricey but it'll help you get started with SAM. (And when you get a solid start on SAM, you'll also be getting a solid start on ITAM) (Al) Appropriate for anyone involved in the governance, management and use of software assets within an organisation, this title, 'ITIL V3 Guide to Software Asset Management', contains a practical approach to the management of software assets.
This resource is relatively simple in scope but it provides a basic technician's perspective on managing software assets. As with anything ITIL, it's a bit pricey but it'll help you get started with SAM. (And when you get a solid start on SAM, you'll also be getting a solid start on ITAM) (Al) Appropriate for anyone involved in the governance, management and use of software assets within an organisation, this title, 'ITIL V3 Guide to Software Asset Management', contains a practical approach to the management of software assets.
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Is your IT budget constantly in the red? Consider this...
It seems as if every day we wake up to discover that we've exceeded our IT budget in some unfathomable manner. It's been the experience of our staff that there are literally hundreds of nearly invisible ways to trash an IT budget, even in the typical small enterprise. The key to changing the trend is not spending even more money on tools and services. Instead, the enterprise that takes a step back to the basics of more effective business and process management will reap maximum rewards with minimal effort.
One of the most frequent problems we have discovered in IT asset management & IT portfolio management is that enterprises continue to manage these portfolios of goods, services, and contractual relationships from a technical perspective instead of a business perspective. Let's take a close look at how a simple priority approach to three key business methodologies can help you completely re-invent your IT portfolio finances. And the best part is that you already have the talent and capabilities "in-house" to do the deed.
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