It is an exciting time to be in the IT Asset Management profession! Some of you who are dealing with audits or are still trying to convince the C-Suite that ITAM is worthy of a ‘seat in the suite’, may wonder what we’re talking about, but there has never been a more challenging and dynamic time for ITAM professionals to make a significant impact and influence business outcomes.
The current economic climate has most firms scrambling to reduce costs and maximize productivity. Hardware and software spend, if not managed carefully, can be a significant drain on available finances which could jeopardize investments in strategic projects. Similarly, these cost pressures can result in resource reductions which result in a loss of key personnel, with knowledge of current spend, license complexity, and how to handle a vendor audit. This could expose your company to risk and needless expense and leave you unprepared for current and future business challenges.
Improving Business Challenges with ITAM & ISAM
Speaking of current and future business challenges, the ever-present ‘Cloud Migration’ which includes both the public and private Cloud has a significant impact on IT Asset Management. Traditionally focused on-premise, the movement to the cloud presents new challenges in terms of licensing, cost structure, and a shortage of skills. New challenges with respect to the cloud environment, are certainly not new to legacy on-premise environments – therein lies the challenge or opportunity as we see it. Irrespective of whether you’re talking about on-premise or cloud, these 3 critical questions must be addressed:
- Do you know the cost?
- Is your environment secure?
- Are you in compliance?
Many companies struggle to answer these questions because usually the effort to do so is too exhaustive and labor-intensive, leaving little time for innovation or strategic priorities. Consequently, the responsibilities are parceled out to disparate or newly formed (FinOps) organizations, leaving no time for synergy or a consolidated answer to those questions. We recommend a centralized approach and will address this in a future article.
As expected, software Vendors are adjusting their market approach in this economic climate.
Tier 1 Vendors – IBM and Oracle – have made significant changes in their pricing models, focusing on proof of use and changing their licensing requirements. Not to be outdone, Microsoft has changed its pricing as well. Indeed, it’s a vendor’s prerogative to change their policies and pricing to maximize profit; but it’s your opportunity to make sure you understand, communicate, and most importantly, take action to avoid overspending.
There is a lot going on in the ITAM space at the moment and being “ITAM AWARE,” is critically important to your company’s success. If you are unsure of how to proceed or need assistance, please contact us and we’ll help you navigate the storm and get a firm grasp on your IT Asset Management processes.
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