Avoiding Financial Losses: 6 Steps to Software Budget
Experts agree in their disagreement over our financial future. But does that mean we shouldn't be prepared anyway? Even without a financial market downturn, companies can face an economic downturn, so it's always a good idea to know that you can make quick, painless moves to strengthen your budget against financial recession.
Your IT investment is one of these places. Large-scale changes in software purchasing and licensing can result in significant long-term savings. The turnaround of the Software Asset Management project can be rapid and consequential. Most Aspera customers achieved a full return in the first 6-12 months, and many saw an ROI of up to 300% within 3 years. So if you don't have a Software Asset Management software, now is the right time to start a project.
How exactly can a SAM program protect your recessionary budget?
Software Asset Management is all about saving and efficiency. It creates a financially sustainable software environment that guarantees access to the software you need to run your income-generating activities. Protects your organization from excessive budget burdens by managing your software licenses and developing your contracts.
6 Steps to Software Budget
Build people and processes. All of the best SAM programs start with the right people and processes. Enabling stakeholders to buy across your organization, not just from central IT, contributes significantly to the continued success of your SAM program.
Get a SAM tool . "Shouldn't this be about saving money?" I understand the objection and am a little biased, but it is worth the investment. Any SAM program will potentially contain millions of data points, and you wouldn't be able to manage it effectively without a tool. Yes, it's an investment, but an investment that can give you significant long-term savings in your IT budget and management efforts. It is the most important IT investment you will make in the next ten years and is still cheaper than any other software.
Follow the money! Your biggest savings will be on your biggest spend. Your investments in Salesforce, Microsoft Office 365, Adobe, AWS, Microsoft Azure are critical to your business success. But they also cost you dearly. What if we told you that you can get the same performance from these tools and spend less? By tracking usage and ensuring that only those who need and use software licenses get licenses, you avoid waste and spend less on your most expensive software tools.
Reduce, reuse, update! Keep unused licenses low by reclaiming unused licenses and assigning them to users who need them. By tracking usage and automating re-workflows, you make sure you always have the right number of licenses in your organization.
Redistribute resources. Using a tool to automate your Software Asset Management processes will redistribute staff capabilities to critical business tasks. Save money and create value by better managing existing staff resources.
Get the most out of your contracts. Make sure you take advantage of all the hidden benefits in your contracts. Some of these, including cloud migration benefits, can reduce your costs significantly. So prepare for contract negotiations and avoid overpaying for licenses and maintenance contracts you don't use next time.
The most important step in protecting your organization against financial losses is optimizing your software environment. With a Software Asset Management program, you can find savings and benefits that will protect your entire organization in your current environment.
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