Part 3: The past, present and future of ITAM
Livingstone Group recently joined The ITAM Review for an episode of its podcast to discuss ITAM, the cloud, and creating business value from ITAM. We covered everything from the origins of SAM, to the evolution of ITAM in the cloud era, to the (healthy) future of ITAM.
In Part 3 of this follow up blog series, I’ll take a look at why now, more than ever, ITAM must become a key component of any business who is looking to realize efficiencies and goals.
And don’t forget to take a look at Part 1 and Part 2 to read about the evolution of SAM and ITAM, including how ITAM has responded to the cloud era.
Making ITAM an integral part of any business
Ever since SAM, and later ITAM, came into the marketplace, its primary focus and use case has been to clean up mess – helping organizations to recover from over- or under-spending, compliance mistakes and less than ideal contract agreements.
But, in an age of crisis where organizations are looking to make savings across the board and disruptive cloud technologies are causing them to spend more than necessary, it’s time that ITAM is viewed in a proactive, preventative light – helping organizations to mitigate risks before they become costly mistakes, and ensuring they make the best decisions the first time around.
Indeed, although ITAM is no crystal ball for predicting the future, in an ideal world, it would play a part in wider business initiatives to avoid extra spend and be involved early on in decisions that can boost efficiency. It would help organizations to make informed decisions that benefit the business as a whole and in the long-term, from ensuring cloud migration projects run smoothly to maintain business as usual operations, to making cost savings so that investments can be made elsewhere.
Of course, there are hurdles to ensuring ITAM takes pride of place. Most organizations don’t have the in-house expertise across all publishers, software and cloud applications, or know how to manage deployment and licensing data effectively. ITAM is multi-disciplinary, and no single business can be expected to have all the knowledge, expertise and resources to make a positive change.
Attitudes are changing but there’s still work to be done
Alongside changes in software and cloud capabilities, business objectives are changing. Indeed, in the wake of the pandemic, there has been a huge surge in requirements to reduce costs, with everyone wanting to know what their software and cloud budgets are, and companies asking questions about how to optimize their requirements and Bill of Materials (BoM). For many, this has meant taking that first serious look at ITAM.
With this momentum behind us, it’s time that the ITAM community steps up to the plate and promotes the value of ITAM, as well as builds solutions and services that meet changing requirements. While under-investment and day-to-day bureaucracy still might hamper the ability to enact positive change straight away, it’s up to the ITAM community to educate organizations and deliver more dynamic solutions and services that will move the needle in the direction of ITAM becoming an essential cog in any business’ wheel.
As we see a profound change in what companies are asking for, it’s time for us to innovate and keep up with changing investment landscape so that organizations wonder why they didn’t invest in ITAM long before now. By showing organizations how they can optimize and reduce costs before they make mistakes, ITAM can prove its true worth.
Spread the good word about ITAM
The first step to promoting ITAM’s value is to spread the good news stories about the positive impact it can have.
As businesses become more interested in what ITAM has to offer, now is the time to get them invested in the opportunity, the value, and the potential of ITAM, so that they can invest in the space and drive further opportunities. ITAM Review’s mission statement is for ITAM teams to become as ubiquitous as Finance departments – and at Livingstone, we couldn’t agree more. There is still a way to go to achieving this, but we’re on the right track – and starting with the good stories is key.
For example, rather than relying on negative incidents like audits to show ITAM’s value, change the narrative to the likes of ITAM Managed Services, where the benefits are ongoing beyond a single event and affect positive change across an organization as a whole. Show customers the art of the possible – that ongoing capabilities drive ongoing value; that defending one audit or negotiating one contract is just the start of what ITAM can achieve.
It is an exciting time to be part of the ITAM community. ITAM is becoming more sophisticated in all areas, from tools and software to services and tech. It’s a transformative time and the possibilities are endless.
You can tune in to the full episode here, and don’t forget to take a look at Part 1 and Part 2 of the blog series.
Our current complimentary Gartner® Infographic: "When to Use a Software Asset Management Service Provider" will help you consider your options to operate the SAM discipline internally, externally or in hybrid mode, as laid out in the infographic. Then, develop the mandate, structure, sponsors, goals and scope to enable your SAM discipline. Available until end July 2022
To find out about how Livingstone can help your ITAM needs, please get in touch.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Simon Leuty, Head of Pre-Sales and Co-Founder
Simon sits on the Executive Leadership Team as Head of Pre-Sales and is responsible for the development roadmap of our client portal Livingstone Hub.
He has over 15 years’ experience of the Software Asset Management and Cloud markets, working closely with our growing customer base to help them take control of their software and cloud cost. Simon helps to eliminate unacceptable spend and enforce tight governance standards that keep them compliant, agile and secure.