IT asset management (ITAM), software asset management (SAM), software license management (SLM), and software license optimization (SLO), are often looked at from one or, hopefully, two perspectives: 1. cost reduction (or optimization) and 2. improved governance, including compliance. However, there’s a third perspective which shouldn’t be overlooked – the insight that effective ITAM provides to help with other IT, and business, decisions and activities. This blog offers some examples of this, before showing the power of even simple ITAM activities and then offering 10 tips for getting started with ITAM quick wins.

Topics: ITAM

It’s been a hectic week for the team here at InvGate now that we’re back from the Service Management World conference. We’re still distilling our notes and following up with the folks most interested in our approach to Service and Asset Management. We’ve also gathered our initial thoughts into something that makes sense collectively, and we’ve taken those insights to our developers so they can crank out great new features that mesh well with the needs of front-line IT staff. All of this introspection sparked a thought from us; why not share our notes from the field and insights with you? So here you go, a collection of thoughts from our team and our partner, QuestDesk.

Topics: service management, ITSM, ITAM, partners

IT service management (ITSM) and IT asset management (ITAM) are often spoken about, and invested in, as two separate corporate IT disciplines. But this is wasteful, and suboptimal, with there being much commonality of focus, and the opportunity for them to be brought closer together to deliver greater business value than if they were to be kept in their respective silos. To find out more, please read the following 10 tips for making ITSM and ITAM work better together.

Topics: ITSM, ITAM

 So, here’s the deal. IT asset management (ITAM) as a capability is something that can really help your organization to get a handle on what’s being used within your IT environment. Done well, it can save your organization money (including third-party spend), drive operational efficiency, and mitigate risk. All too often though, people get bogged down in the detail of ITAM or find excuses (often myths) which prevent them from starting out on what should be a very successful ITAM journey. So, let’s separate the fact from the fiction, with some good old-fashioned myth busting.

Topics: ITAM

IT asset management (ITAM) is an IT and business capability that can help to ensure that your IT estate stays under control, is appropriately licensed, and is in a position to enable your business – rather than it be a source of risk. But all too often it’s overlooked as a “must do” set of IT and business practices – leaving it in the “nice to do” pile that never gets touched.

Topics: ITAM

Dealing with a software vendor audit can be time consuming, stressful, and costly exercise. Preparation is key, as is having formal software audit practices and underlying  IT asset management (ITAM) and software asset management (SAM) processes in place. This blog offers some practical guidelines on how to manage a software audit situation without panicking, hiding under your desk, or running screaming from the building. 

Topics: IT Asset Management, Software Audits, ITAM

Software can be a big expense for organizations and thus its effective management can make a big difference to what gets spent on it each and every year. But software license management isn’t just about saving money, it's also about compliance - having the ability to ensure that the software used within your organization is both licensed and used in an optimized way. To that end, an ITAM tool can be an ally.

Topics: Software Audits, ITAM