Kenneth Guillame, Big4.com Staff Reporter

According to the latest KPMG report, the rising cost of software licensing and maintenance are making companies rethink about the importance of a software asset management (SAM) program. The report named Software Asset Management - Mitigating Risk and Realising Opportunities stressed how SAM can be helpful in delivering the desired results by the companies.

The report, when talking about SAM said it is -"a business practice designed to reduce IT costs, limit risks related to the ownership and use of software, and increase corporate-wide and IT efficiencies. As more companies begin to realize the value of their software assets--and that this value is being compromised by failing to actively manage these assets--undoubtedly, SAM adoption will grow. It will not be long, in fact, before companies with limited SAM capabilities will become the exception."

There is immense potential to save millions of dollars through better use of all technology assets, KPMG stressed. They also added that companies can use SAM on hardware as well as their software. This will also enable them to make better purchasing decisions. Tools such as volume purchase agreements or bundled services enable companies to function more effectively in the areas where software requirements are present. SAM also helps companies to ensure that only authorized software is being used. This happens since it has effective license tracking software in it.

Network security is also put on high priority as SAM provides better understanding and control over the software installed. With such knowledge, data integrity, and customer privacy, network security is assured. It also helps in improving responsiveness, flexibility, information flow of the organization’s software arrangement.

Despite these various benefits, SAM also has a few minor drawbacks. With licensing rules becoming stricter, the providers worry about how their requirements will be fulfilled and that there will be difficulty in monitoring them. The other problem would be that all major groups in an institution such as legal, IT, and finance units may not be having common objectives.