Let’s talk about the most important commodity that you should have at your disposal when it comes to Software Asset Management (SAM). No, it isn’t fancy technology or software. No, it isn’t the man-force you have tasked with the project. No, it isn’t even a working knowledge of licensing!

All these things are of course important in building a strong SAM practice. But the problem is that it doesn’t matter how many knowledgable and efficient people you assign responsibilities to, or what sophisticated technology/software you have invested in…if you don’t have the TIME available to dedicate to SAM, you will fail.

Organizations continuously underestimate the amount of time that is need to implement a proper SAM program, not only getting it up and running, but for maintenance of data, processes, procedures and policies on an on-going basis. Even if you out-source your SAM, time and resource is still needed internally to follow through on actions raised and to analyse and digest the results produced. You are going to want to pay close attention anyway when you outsource your SAM as the legal responsibility will remain with you, the organization.

So, how much time do you ask? Now although this is a bit of tricky question, as there are so many variables at play when calculating this, I can contribute some clear guidelines for you: