Why License Management is an Integral IT Strategy?

Today, the business world is progressing possibly at an unprecedented speed. Digital Transformation brings about a great deal of innovations that add value to legacy business processes by streamlining them. Most of these innovations take place in the digital world because the trend is to go digital as fast as possible and as efficient as possible. This whole mindset is called Digital Acceleration. Despite being used interchangeably with Digital Transformation, Digital Transformation is actually a growth concept rather than a specific set of actions. Find out more about Digital Acceleration in the article.

This being the case, companies may have a hard time if they try to employ Digital Transformation techniques suddenly, without a framework whatsoever. Digital Transformation aims to simplify enterprise architecture and build up a well-structured and integrated working environment digitally. Yet, if these steps are not monitored properly, a business may have to suffer from unintended consequences like complex enterprise architecture and/or bloated inventories.

So, comprehensive procedures should be conducted to answer these needs of a business. A visible, well-monitored, and therefore protected IT environment is what makes businesses thrive today. After all, many analysts report that IT became the most important component in a company considering the contemporary needs of the customers and the market. Simply put, there should be a clear-cut way to ensure a flawless operation in a company when it comes to Digital Transformation and IT structure.

There is one.

What is IT Asset Management (ITAM)?

In order to tackle potential threats like business delays, dispersed IT governance etc., there is a framework in the IT sector: IT Asset Management. IT Asset Management, abbreviated as ITAM, is the methodical approach towards managing the whole IT landscape of a company. IT Asset Management (ITAM) is specifically designed business processes coming together to form a framework that aims to manage the hardware and software inventories of an organization’s IT structure.

An IT asset refers to every single component related to the technological endeavour of a company. Generally, a business environment consists of hardware like computers, printers, phones etc. and software like business suites, integrations, project management solutions etc. IT assets are quite common but incredibly valuable for the business, at the same time. Please take a look at “How to Track Assets in a Digital World?” to further understand the new dynamics in the business that Digital Transformation blossomed.

IT Asset Management is an umbrella term. That is, there are several specified subjects under ITAM that provide ad-hoc approaches for different needs. For example:

• Software Asset Management (SAM): Focuses on keeping track of software: SaaS solutions, on-premises, Business Suites…
• Hardware Asset Management (HAM): Accounting for the physical belongings of the IT structure like computers, mouses, mobile phones etc.
• IT Costs Management: Aims to reduce the IT costs while optimizing business processes by analysing how the IT budget is functioning.
• License Management: Following and compiling the licenses of IT assets. Every single IT entity has a license, but the licenses of the software weigh up more important. This way, License Management provide understanding towards both the organizational and the financial aspects of the IT structure.
• Asset Life Cycle Management: Monitoring the stages an asset goes through during its utilization in a company. Find out more about Asset Life Cycle Management by reading the article.

Subheadings of IT Asset Management can be multiplied as there are various needs that are sector or business-specific. The prominent components of IT Asset Management, however, are the ones above.

License Management is quite critical because it deals with everything: compliance, purchase details, costs… plus, a company’s ownership can only be clearly understood with and proved by a license.

So, let’s get into the details of why License Management is crucial for IT Asset Management.

Why License Management is an Integral IT Strategy?

The licenses are the legal documents that define ownership and user/provider rights. Both of the parties agree on certain topics and do business. So, managing the licenses by

• Carefully analysing them and identifying important nuances
• Compiling them in a single source to access and update them practically
• Renewing or cancelling them automatically
• Or deciding the renewals manually by evaluating the asset
• Following the start and end dates of licenses
• Identifying double-purchases or similar licenses that serve the same process
• Singling out unused licenses and retiring them
• Optimizing the overall IT budget and structure

are the actions that shape the IT landscape. Considering these factors, it should be emphasised that License Management plays a very critical role in IT Asset Management because it handles the paper trail.

What are the Risks of Ineffective License Management?

An important component of IT Asset Management as covered, there are risks that poor License Management poses:

• Unnecessary purchases: The same asset or a very similar one might be procured again if not the licenses have been compiled to make a search
• Money waste: Impulsive purchases of similar assets would result in the unnecessary expansion of the IT Budget
• Compliance issues: Some licenses might lack several clauses that legal guidelines enforce. License Management ensures the accord between licenses and the legal aspect of the IT structure
• Badly passed audits: Audits are the examinations of the financial data of a company. Poor License Management could result in discrepancies in a business and this would pose a serious threat before audits

As implied, everything is integrated within the IT landscape of a business and such an integrated structure can only be managed with a comprehensive and robust methodology. IT Asset Management answers this need. Especially with IT Asset Management software, a company streamlines its IT management processes and saves time, effort, and money. Check out how IT Asset Management software works and meet Loggle, a very cost-effective and innovative ITAM solution.