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Introduction

The extent to which computing has become a part of normal life and day-to-day business has forced a change in the way management approaches how they manage the money, the tasks and the assets within an organisation. Technology becoming an important factor in business.

As computing becomes more widely used within a company and takes a more prominent critical within the vital processes of that business, it is necessary to make sure that an appropriate level of attention is applied to this technology. Technological assets that may have once been overlooked are now important factors in the decision making process.

Technology have come a long way over the past few years and are now seen as vital elements of any business. As such, they are allocated greater budgets but must also be able to manage a greater amount of responsibility.

But once you have spent a substantial amount of your budget on developing your IT network and seen the circumstances of your company change, how do you ensure that the systems you are using can keep up with demand? Moreover, how can you achieve this without spending a large amount of money?

This is the role carried out by IT management software and systems.

Every company and every environment will have different needs and will offer unique challenges. To satisfy these needs there are a range of different technologies and approaches that can be used to help control the IT infrastructure of your company.

Software Asset Management

SAM ( Software Asset Management) is designed to do exactly what it says on the tin – monitoring and controlling the deployment and usage of software programs within your business. It is a business process rather than a distinct skill and is becoming a more critical part of the modern business environment, particularly for companies operating in the field of IT. Despite the many benefits of SAM, there are still a great many companies that are not utilising it to its full potential.

SAM is not simply an aid for technicians installing software across a large company network, but can be a crucial tool to help improve performance at multiple levels of a business. The aims of SAM include controlling of the IT infrastructure within a business, negating legal threats associated with incorrect software license usage and sustaining high levels of productivity by making sure software is up to date and fit for its purpose. As IT usage in a business grows, so do the potential benefits of SAM.

The practice of SAM is often thought of as an unnecessary evil due to the abstract nature of what it is designed to deal with, and the financial case for employing a SAM solution is not always obvious until a full of the software infrastructure of a company has been done.

Monetary benefits are still the most driving business factor when deciding to employ SAM technology within a business. Every company needs to make money after all and expenditure is a very measurable metric.

An increasingly large amount of a company’s IT bank roll is spent on software licensing so there is a critical need to invest to correctly handle this spending. As companies expand and spread, their software needs can change radically and equipment and programs can swiftly become outdated. There is no need to spend money to maintain the licenses on this outdated software, which is where SAM really delivers an edge.

SAM is not restricted to simply the technology of your business either. As a management cycle it will often include many of the departments within a company, including Finance Human Resources, to make sure that it runs as cost-effectively as possible.

When choosing an appropriate provider of a software asset management solution for your system Centennial Discovery must be a solution that is considered amongst many.

Why follow a SAM Strategy?

Having seen the multiple benefits of employing a SAM solution, how do you know that it would be correct for your organisation? Every business is different and has its own separate set of challenges and advantages, so any strategy you will undertake needs to be catered to these specific traits.

There are more than simply monetary benefits that can be made through the management of licensing and maintenance agreements across an organisations IT network. Productivity can be hugely boosted by ensuring that employees have the newest editions of software available under current licenses held, and communication within the corporation is aided when support staff know exactly what is deployed on every computer under their control.

Financial Savings

As discussed before, perhaps the most persuading reason to utilise software asset management within your company is the potential financial savings that can be made. The profitability of your company is always going to be the bottom line so any plan that can help to improve this profitability by lowering costs is one that should be evaluated. Money can be saved in a multitude of ways.

The most immediate way that SAM can help to lower costs is by identifying any applications running on your corporate network that is no longer needed. The software might not be being used any longer, it may be too outdated to be of use or it may be duplicated on your system.

By removing these items of software that are no longer a help to the running of your business you are streamlining a large chunk of your IT infrastructure. Paying for unnecessary software licenses and support and maintenance agreements means that more finance can be spent on the critical parts of your IT system.

Mitigate Risk Factors

A surprising amount of software that is currently used in the business environment is either licensed incorrectly or not licensed at all. Running any amount of uncontrolled software on your IT network is not advised, because when left unchecked it can become incredibly unpredictable.

Rogue software applications can be introduced into an unmonitored IT system in a number of ways. Software may have been bundled when your IT hardware was first purchased although the initial software licenses may have expired. Without the correct control policies in place, users may also be able to load their own software onto the network. Operating a corporate IT system in this wild way will almost certainly lead to trouble.

The danger of running unlicensed software on your system is clear. When something goes wrong with the hardware or software platform supporting your critical processes, how do you manage the situation? Operating a complex software system without the correct support can create a metaphorical minefield when it comes to disaster recovery and can critically limit your responsiveness to unpredictable events. The cost of recovery will always outweigh the cost of mitigation when it comes to IT systems.

There are a great deal of adaptable Centennial distributors focusing on SAM who can create the ideal solution for your company.

Implementing Software Asset Management in your Organisation

As previously mentioned, there are many potential benefits to using a good software asset management strategy within your organisation, both financial and otherwise. It is vitally important to determine which branches of software asset management you should implement first since certain benefits will be achieved more quickly than others.

This discovery process can be viewed as three fundamental phases that have to be undertaken to truly build an accurate picture of the deployment of software assets within your organisation.

Inventory

Inventory is the most fundamental function of the discovery process. It is crucial that an accurate audit of software assets within your organisation is created to aid your IT department to maintain baselines for your IT system.
Fortunately, this process can now be automated and even the largest of networks can be searched and analysed in a relatively short period. Inventory should be able to identify your IT assets regardless of their geographical location or technological characteristics. Modern inventory processes are capable of this.

Capture

The next step in the discovery cycle involves the capture of the license entitlements that manage the software programs discovered in the inventory. The capture process should collect entitlements for all of the software that exists on your network, even if the software is not currently in use.

The element of human error can be avoided by using automated tools that are specifically created to build a library of license entitlements. Packages that are currently available are incredibly efficient at gathering accurate information.

Identification & Validation

The third step is to match up the software inventory to the repository of licensing data that were created in the previous two stages. Errors may have occurred anywhere from the original invoices for software to the most recent audits undertaken on your IT system.

One crucial factor in the validation step is the ability to combine the license entitlements within your network to your organisation’s proof of entitlement. This will be essential if any arguments with software resellers arise as a consequence of the discovery process.

After these steps have been undertaken you will have created an incredibly rich picture of how your IT system is delivering software packages to its users. It will be a lot simpler to identify particular trouble areas on your system, or areas of software usage that are no longer of any practical benefit to your activites. This detailed map can be used for future reference as well.

You can now start a period of reconciliation upon your network. You can compare the software programs that are actually employed on your network against the licensing and support entitlements that you are paying for and bridge any gaps between the two. This is when the financial benefits of software asset management start to take effect.

The software distribution in your system may include many hundreds or perhaps thousands of individual installations, and there may be any number of rules that may be associated with the licensing agreements you have in place. It is therefore a necessity to automate the reconciliation stage, utilising one or more programs to apply smart rules to the process.

If you are able to locate a particular Centennial reseller knowledgeable about your particular organisation you will reap the benefits, one such specialist is Softcat, click here to view their website.

Compliancy and Flexibility with SAM

Many of the basic principles of a modern SAM strategy are based upon the concepts laid out in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, or ITIL. This library details a number of principles and best practices that should be adopted for successful management of IT functions. The ITIL can be found online.

This library is a changing publication and is often updated with new concepts and policies that reflect the constantly changing IT environment of modern business. A good SAM strategy should be fluid enough to follow the guidelines laid out in the ITIL whilst matching the changing requirements of the business within which it is actively utilised. This is an essential requirement of successful software asset management

The International Standard Organisation (ISO) has created a standard that applies specifically to SAM practices. This standard, ISO 19770-1, is an incredibly comprehensive set of guidelines that are designed to ensure that software asset management is used in such a way as to “satisfy corporate governance requirements”. Standards of this kind play an important part in realising standardisation across an industry.

The ISO standard should really be adhered to when designing a software asset management strategy for your own organisation, although the level of detail covered within can easily become a daunting prospect. It is vital to remember that no matter what recommendations you follow when creating a SAM strategy, whatever you decide to employ needs to help your organisation rather than stifle it. Industry standards cannot simply be copied when it comes to applying them to your business.

Creating a complete and comprehensive SAM strategy for your own business might actually never come to fruition. Your plan must be flexible to change and mature as your business does, and it should allow for modifications to your daily tasks, no matter how small or fundamental they might be. This really is the key to a successful software asset management plan.

Conclusion

It is easy to see that as the scope and importance of computer systems within your company grow, so does the requirement for good and efficient management of these systems. Gone are the times when an IT department was a bonus that would sometimes progress the business. Computer networks are now vital to the modern business.

As with other branches of any business, a number of different strategies should be considered and utilised in order to ensure the efficient running of daily activities. SAM should not be the only tool used to manage technological assets within your organisation, but rather one of a multitude of complimentary policies used to control the system as a whole. software asset management can go a long way toward helping your business but should be helped by other strategies.

So if you think that your organisation is currently suffering from a lack of planned monitoring and management over its IT network, or that the possible benefits described in this article could provide a critical market edge over your competitors, then it would be well worth researching how SAM could be employed within your company. There may be no time to lose.

From credit cards to mortgage, the trend in money-borrowing has become pretty much the only option for a lot of people.  Whether it’s to pay for or acquire something, or build up credit rating, almost anyone can borrow money in this day and age.  A string of good deals and competitive interest rates have also cause consumer finance to be more prevalent than ever.  The general market for secured loans are people with their own property (vehicle, house, etc.) as this kind of arrangement makes an excellent value for one’s money and gives affordability and advantage.  Almost all bank and other financial institutions offer secured loans and customers can canvass for better deals that are in tune with their finances.

The amount that can be acquired in a secured loan is based on the borrower’s property equity.  Outstanding amounts from a debt, say mortgage or any type of loan, will be subtracted to the market value of that property.  Secured loans have a much lower interest rate and a longer term than those of unsecured loans.  This sort of looseness is attributed to the fact that your property is secured against your secured loan.  With secured loans, people can borrow tens of thousands of pounds and this could offer lots of assistance to those who need the money for their finances.  Unlike unsecured loans, the longer repayment term makes it possible to allow borrowers to pay a much lower monthly payment.

One specific advantage a secured loan provides is that it could merge several existing loans into essentially one loan where the interest for each loan also become one.  The regular term for this concept is called consolidation loan and the idea is to make it easier for the borrower to make payments by making a one-time payment each month than doing individual payment on individual loan. 

Persons that established a bad credit rating due to debts can have their credit rating repaired in the form of bad credit secured loans. 

Secured loans would make virtually all purchase or funding affordable to anyone who needs one.  The most beneficial factors in consolidating loans are the low monthly repayments and the cut in interest rate.  In spite of this, people getting secured loans should at least have a long-term plan so as not to lose their property especially if the collateral is their house. 

Sustaining payments is what secured loans is about and those who doesn’t have a stable source of income should think twice before betting their home.  All financial conditions should be considered in taking out a secured loan whether it would be best in the long run or whether reposession is likely.  It’s one thing to lose a car, but a roof over your head is more important.

If you think that you will be able to sustain payments in a secured loan, the next step is to find a provider that offers a cheap interest rate and term that best suit your finances.  Providers of all kinds of loans, including secured loans, are all over the internet but it is also crucial to talk to an agent to get a clearer picture of things. 

Unsecured or secured loans may always bring in fine prints and other hidden fees so it’s important to understand what these are about and how it would affect your finances.  If your lender fails to make you understand the loan guidelines, you can always ask a financial adviser or expert for advise and pointers.  Charitable financial institutions like the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) is always there to assist the public with their finances for free.

Parents can celebrate a back to school party or kids may prefer to call the festivities an end of summer party. Other way, it is a fund way to look back on the summer and have a get together with everyone before school starts again (or for some the first time).

An outdoor party with a barbecue is the perfect way to feed the party guests. Ask the children what their favorite parts of the summer were and what they are looking forward to most when going back to school. Try and incorporate these things into the party.

Make a school bus cake using two square cake pans. Use one cake as the body of the bus and cut up the second cake making wheels and the front part of the bus that jets out. Make goodie bags for all the children to take home and place them in brown paper bags with their names written on them. Things to put in the bags:

* An apple * Small notebook * Pencil * Eraser * Calculator * Anything else school related

Hold a spelling bee and give a prize to the winner (maybe a new backpack). Have a large jar full of jelly beans or another fun treat and have the children guess how many are in the jar. The closest person gets to take the jar home. Think of other activities that revolve around the curriculum the children will be going back to once the school bells starting ringing again.

Invite children from your child’s class that maybe he or she hasn’t seen in the summer. For younger children this can make the transition back into the classroom easier if they have a familiarity with the people they are going to be seeing everyday. The other parents will be appreciative to as it will help their children too.

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When it comes to choosing telephone numbers, UK businesses have a number of options (if you excuse the pun). Many opt to use 08 numbers and a quick look through a business directory will prove this. 08 numbers (e.g. 0844 numbers, 0800 numbers etc.) are classed as non-geographic telephone numbers because they do not have traditional area codes that make the location of the organisation using them explicit. This has many benefits, for example, businesses that use non-geographic numbers are likely to see an increase in enquiries from outside of the actual location they are based. This is also handy when advertising and promoting the phone number – particularly on websites as it means that the business is not tied to one location only.

Another major advantage of all non-geographic numbers is the fact that call management systems can be easily used alongside them to help businesses smarten up the way they deal with their calls. For example, phone greetings (e.g. “Thanks for calling…..” and menu options “press 1 to speak to someone about your bill, press 2 for general enquiries” etc). These features are all controlled online meaning that companies don’t have to install any additional hardware or equipment – which makes them a more attractive offering than bulky PBX systems.

Organisations can also handpick a non-geographic telephone number of their choice which is one their callers can remember easily and therefore, more likely to phone.

When it comes to deciding exactly which 08 number to use there should be many things that businesses should consider. Below there is a comparison between just 2 of the different 08 numbers available; 0844 numbers and 0800 numbers.

0844 numbers are often used by businesses to help them fund additional services. They are commonly used for technical helplines and after sales support because companies can actually receive a payment for the calls they receive. This payment can be as much as 3 pence per minute with some number providers. Additionally, there’s at least one provider that offers 0844 numbers for a small connection fee only and no monthly service charge. The cost for people to phone an 0844 number is reasonable at 4.25 pence per minute from a BT landline.

For companies wanting to offer their potential customers a free call from a landline, an 0800 number is ideal. 0800 numbers are popular for advertising and marketing campaigns as they remove the cost barrier for people to call them. In fact, research by the Institute of Direct Marketing has found that companies that use 0800 numbers can increase their calls by 185%. Organisations running 0800 numbers simply pay a connection fee, small monthly service charge and they pay for the cost of the calls they receive which is around 4p per minute. However, this cost is often ofset by the increase in enquiries and sales they receive. Plus, if you’re smart you’ll find a number provider that can offer up to 2,500 free inbound minutes.

The cost to call 0800 numbers from a mobile varies however and for companies wanting to offer their mobile callers a great deal – 03 numbers are perfect… but that’s another discussion altogether…

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