14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's annual Worldwide Partner Conference was the stage where the company announced the evolution of its Software Asset Management business practice. The Redmond company underscored the new software asset management tools as well as the partner program investments and strategy designed to enable users to optimize their solution and services infrastructure. At the basis of Microsoft's SAM strategy are three pillars, involving training and education, development of a worldwide partner network and a direct customer collaborative model.
"Software Asset Management represents a strategic investment for Microsoft. We currently offer tools such as the Microsoft Software Inventory Analyzer (MSIA) and the SAM ROI Calculator, available for download at no charge on our Web site. However, we've also taken a phased approach to building robust asset management tools into our mainstream products and services. The first phase, which is going to market this year, is designed to improve asset visibility in an organization. It involves building asset management capabilities into System Management Server (SMS) 2003 Service Pack 3, which was released in May), System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and System Center Essentials 2007," revealed Juan Fernando Rivera, director of anti-piracy at Microsoft.
2008 will bring with it the next stage of Microsoft's SAM strategy. The Redmond Company plans to no less than completely automate the asset management process. The final phase of the company's vision is planed to debut in 2009. Starting two years from now, Microsoft promised to deliver additional resources for SAM. Essentially, Software Asset Management delivers control over investments associated with software in a business environment.
"The first step is for a business to identify its assets. Then, it needs to map those assets to entitlements, and set a base line to establish policies and procedures that make sure everything is in place. Finally, the business needs to build a plan. It's important for companies to realize that SAM is not done once and then it's over. To be highly effective, SAM needs to be incorporated as a core business practice," Rivera added.