SAM Awareness: Der unterschätzte Gamechanger?

Almost everyone knows that in everyday working life, a department usually has to keep track of several issues and objectives. As a result, license compliance and the efficiency of software costs are often not given sufficient consideration in day-to-day business. There is a solution to counteract this problem and raise the necessary awareness: SAM Awareness.

In August, we held an exchange of experiences on SAM awareness measures with the Special Interest Group Software Asset Management & Licensing of VOICE e.V. The following article summarizes the findings from this exchange.

Awareness is the awareness of certain risks, issues, or challenges within the company. After SAM awareness measures, employees should understand the challenges of software asset management and use this understanding to derive and implement the right behaviors in their everyday work.  In the medium to long term, this should contribute to license compliance and cost efficiency in the company and support software asset management in achieving its goals.

But how can such measures be implemented effectively? At what level should they be implemented? How can you tell if the awareness measures have been successful? We discussed these and other questions.

Continuous measures are necessary to achieve awareness. A top-down approach is therefore recommended so that the awareness process is established strategically. This can be implemented through guidelines and regular reporting.

Whether static or dynamic content, for internal consumption or interactive formats: there are no limits to creativity when it comes to specific measures! In addition to classics such as newsletters and training courses, integrated approaches such as integration into the software procurement process are also recommended as best practices. However, dedicated campaigns for specific product or target groups can also lead to license and cost savings. A license audit followed by reflection can also raise awareness. Gamification can create an incentive to engage more intensively with the topics. Coupled with specific KPIs, a ranking system can increase employee motivation and thus optimize costs without the need for constant intervention.

Another factor that is important for long-term success is the frequency of the measures. More than half of the companies represented carry out corresponding measures at least once a year. Initiatives carried out between once a year and once a quarter are balanced. As a general rule, depending on the urgency, measure, and success, the process must be repeated more frequently. This is the only way to ensure that the topics remain on the agenda for stakeholders and employees.

And how do you measure success in the end? There is a clear consensus here: measurement is difficult in many cases. In some cases, improvement can only be measured using indirect indicators (such as a decline in licensing questions), or SAM departments lack the capacity and resources to track progress. This is where interactive measures come into their own: they can usually be assigned to a specific target group, making their success easier and more directly measurable.

Ideally, suitable KPIs are defined during the planning of measures, which can then be used for subsequent measurement.

As this exchange shows, there are many ways to create SAM awareness in a company. The choice of goals, target groups, and measures are crucial for success and should therefore be well thought out.

If you have any further questions on this topic or are perhaps even planning an awareness measure, please do not hesitate to contact us. With our many years of experience, we are happy to support you in establishing long-term awareness of software asset management in your company!

Author: Julius von Erdmannsdorff