Software licence management (SLM) is more of compliance. Embracing the need of wider stakeholder groups can allow you transform your business.
Wasted resources, time, and money are all the enemies of progress in your business. One hidden cost, which may add up to thousands or hundreds of dollars every year, is improperly used software licence.
A good SLM plan can enable you to avoid all those costs. So to help you use your software licence management plan well, you might want to consider the following practices:
Use the Right IT Asset Management Software
Software licence management can be very complicated for you to track ad hoc bases. So IT assessment management software remains the best option.
You may buy a standalone app for that. However, a suitable solution for this is to consider using software licence management features that come with IT service desk software.
Clean and Organise the Licence Inventory
Consider using this chance to create a licence inventory and move every software maintenance contract and licencing agreement to it.
The best organisational system comprises reliable processes and people that enable you to locate licencing information and documents easily. Afterwards, learn what your licence metrics are to determine the kind of licence you need.
Communicate the SLM Capabilities
This is a statement of ‘this is what you all will be doing now and in the future.’ Make sure this is agreed on, approved, and documented to ascertain that there are no potential errors or confusion. But for you to achieve this, you will have to set the scope of your SLM.
It is possible to do anything – though not everything. This, in other words, means that you need to concentrate more on what is important instead of trying to handle everything at a go. So there will be a need to focus your SLM efforts on the things that are important to your company.
This may include addressing your greatest compliance risk areas, concentrating on software titles your organisation spends on most of the time or getting into details of the top five software providers.
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Be in Control
The installation of software is an important point of control of SAM activities. This means ensuring that an online patched and licensed software program is installed on your devices.
At this point, it will be safer to lock down access to your organisation’s devices to prevent users from accidentally installing unlicensed or inappropriate software.
Don’t Overlook the CSI Opportunities
If your business doesn’t have a CSI (continual service improvement) register, you might want to prepare one for SAM. It doesn’t have to be complicated. You can make it as simple as Excel spreadsheets to serve as a lesson-learned log.
Be sure to look at the industry’s best practice, whether it is ISO/EC 19770 SAM standard for compliance & governance or itSMF for practical guidance.
Concluding Remarks!
Most organisations still have to manage their investments for software better so as to minimise financial wastage and risks. It can be a great responsibility, but in the end, it will be rewarding, especially when you start small.
