Is software asset management recommended in the ITIL?

Software asset management (SAM), where an organisation tracks its software assets throughout their entire lifecycle, is crucial to ensure software is used legally, efficiently, and compliantly with regulations. SAM focuses on helping businesses understand the terms of their software licensing, track and audit licenses to ensure compliance, and negotiate cost efficiencies with vendors.
Formally known as the IT Infrastructure Library, the ITIL is a globally recognised framework for delivering and managing results-driven IT services that align with business objectives. This covers the entire lifecycle of IT services, from strategy to continual refinement.

Software asset management (SAM) is classed as an essential technical management practice under ITIL 4. Therefore, this is a crucial aspect of your IT services to prioritise to ensure your IT costs are optimised, compliance fines are avoided, and your IT infrastructure is aligned with your business strategy. The financial benefits of SAM cannot be overstated; Celerity worked with Surrey County Council on its software licence management, helping the council achieve 20% cost savings on its software.

What are the other practices outlined in the ITIL Framework?

The latest ITIL framework is ITIL 4 and this framework emphasises the need for continual improvement of your IT service management (ITSM) through its three categories of 34 principles. In these categories, structured processes are offered to manage and implement efficient IT services. These categories are:

General management practices
This category includes fourteen practices that are crucial for the entire organisation, as well as your IT teams. From strategy management and organisational change management to risk management and information security management. These practices are designed to support your organisation in aligning its processes and culture to your IT services, ensuring you have the necessary internal functions in place , and that your teams and ways of working can adapt to any changes to your IT service delivery.

Service management practices
This category holds seventeen practices that help organisations ensure their service delivery and support meets the customers' needs, as well as their internal needs. For example, the service design practice helps your business understand if your IT services are fit for purpose, allowing you to spot any potential improvements and increase customer satisfaction. Another great example is problem management, which identifies the root causes of recurring disruptions, allowing you to prevent future issues and enhance overall reliability
 
Technical management practices
These cover the essential technical aspects of IT services. This category is where software asset management is featured as part of an organisation’s essential software management practice, along with deployment management and infrastructure management.
Following these practices ensures your technical infrastructure, applications, and software effectively meet business needs. Therefore, software asset management is globally recognised as a crucial element of outstanding IT service delivery and management.

Why is software asset management so important?

We’ve already established that SAM is key to reducing IT costs, avoiding compliance fines, and budgeting more efficiently, but why else is this practice so critical?

• Streamlined service delivery- when your software is accessible and optimised, IT services can be deployed and updated more efficiently
• Enhanced security- with increased visibility, you can spot vulnerabilities caused by expired software licenses
• Faster incident resolution - with the correct software versions and detailed software information being easily available to teams, troubleshooting is accelerated

Under-utilised software licenses can really add up financially and increase your company’s risk, but tracking your software and finding these inefficiencies can be arduous and time-consuming. That’s why businesses all over the UK come to us to evaluate their software asset need and give them back control of their software lifecycle.
 
Unlock the full potential of your business with our Software Asset Management solutions – gain complete control and visibility over your software licenses.