Featured Article from Software Licensing

Human beings spend an awful lot of time doing tasks that could be handled automatically by using the proper software and tools. Unfortunately, it seems to be part of human nature to want to take ownership of routine and repetitive tasks, when energies could be better focused on higher-level projects and business goals.

That certainly seems to be the case when it comes to stakeholder management of IT assets, according to Flexera Software. The company recently revealed that a surprising number of its customers waste valuable human assets and time on stakeholder management. For instance, an IT Asset Manager at a large enterprise recently hired a worker whose main responsibility would be stakeholder management for the company’s global ITAM program. And a Software Asset Manager at another large company admitted to spending 30 percent of his work hours on internal stakeholder management.

Stakeholder management is the process of obtaining backing to fund a software asset management (SAM) program as well as receiving the corporate green light to get the program started. It can involve everything from building the business case for SAM to breaking down the specific needs of all the key stakeholders, which can include senior executives, business unit managers and compliance officers. And once the program is started, stakeholder management functions continue by generating reports and updates on milestones and ROI. This may eventually lead to moving forward on a new phase of the project, thus starting at square one in the stakeholder management cycle.

Clearly, stakeholder management is a complex process that can eat up considerable human capital. Yet SAM tools exist that can significantly aid in the process and handle some of the heavy lifting, freeing up SAM personnel to focus on higher-level goals and objectives. SAM solutions can generate reports and insights to aid in the stakeholder process and essentially help build the business case. They can also break down IT procurement statistics to help with negotiating contract renewals and reducing maintenance costs. Finally, SAM tools can pinpoint unauthorized software license installations, helping companies maintain compliance and potentially saving significant amounts of money in fees and fines.

Businesses need to move toward automation throughout all aspects of operation to help cut costs and free up human workers to focus on more important matters. SAM stakeholder management is a prime candidate for automation and management, and tools are potentially already in place to help with the process.