Cost Reductions

Investment in SAM is generally made with the understanding that it will help reduce IT costs - a factor that is becoming more pressing in the current climate.

Fortunately, in most cases total software cost will indeed be reduced during a SAM roll-out, due to better understanding deployment and clarifying current global license grants. But the simple fact is that the better you understand SAM objectives for cost reduction, the more you'll benefit. And that's where we can play a key part in helping optimise savings.

Optimum understanding, optimum savings

We break down cost reduction objectives into"seven key categories of potential savings", enabling you to set objectives and track success from day one.

We stress, however, that cost reduction objectives are rarely achieved if there is too much reliance on a SAM tool implementation or straight vendor negotiation in isolation. We understand that the best results come from examining the bigger picture.

The Pareto principle - whereby 80% of the gains will come from only 20% of the software categories - applies to SAM. A successful SAM programme is holistic, but doesn't attempt to control every single software asset.

Other IT cost reduction initiatives, such as data centre consolidation and virtualisation, are often based on business cases that don't take into account the impact of change on enterprise software licensing. This regularly causes issues further down the line, as the choice of architecture can have a huge impact on total cost of ownership in either direction.

Well prepared = audit ready

Another driver for SAM is compliance management and the threat of a vendor audit. Audits can disrupt your organisation and are becoming increasingly common as economic conditions decline.

The potential for unbudgeted spend, loss of leverage and damage to vendor relationships are also compelling reasons to take control of the assets.

If your organisation is conducting a cost reduction review with a software focus, whether operating costs (opex) or capitals costs (capex), our holistic approach delivers great results.

To find out more, review our white papers and case studies, or click on methods. Alternatively, give call us on +44 (0) 870 100 4000 (or contact us) to discuss your situation and we'll happily talk you through what we can achieve together.