Smartpath Launches New Training Workshops as Software Asset Management Enters the Board Room

Scott Pettet
Monday, 09 October 2006 07:26

Focussed on Software Asset Management (SAM), the new workshops have been introduced in response to the increasingly urgent need for companies to comply with software license regulations and demonstrate this compliance in line with other corporate governance regulations at board level within the organisation.

 

“We’re beginning to see issues such as licensing compliance and copyright law, in addition to the myriad other laws and acts surrounding the use of IT, elevate SAM to board level for the first time,” said Phil Hare, General Manager SAM Solutions at Smartpath. “There’s also vicarious liability, which means company directors can be held personably responsible for the actions of their employees.  Until recently, it was unheard of for a topic such as SAM to be raised at board level, as it was firmly entrenched in the IT department.”

 

“Another key issue that has seen SAM increasingly tabled is the growing incidence of vendor driven software audit cases, combined with industry bodies such as the BSAA pursuing the illegal use of software.  Some of the resulting settlement payments total hundreds of thousands of dollars.  When you start talking about that kind of money, boards begin to take notice,” said Hare.

 

Smartpath will initially offer public training workshops focussing on SAM, enabling CIOs, IT Managers, Desktop Managers, Support Managers, Purchasing Managers and Asset Managers to bridge the gap between software being used and their actual licensing.  This includes being both under and over-licensed.

 

“When most people think of software license compliance, the first assumption is that there is probably unlicensed software being used.  Whilst this may be the case, on the whole, a company may find itself actually over-licensed and therefore needlessly costing themselves money.  The aim of Software Asset Management is to provide a holistic view of software utilisation and align it with licensing, ensuring both legal compliance and cost minimisation.”

 

Smartpath will initially offer workshops in Sydney and Melbourne.  Subject matter covered will include:

 

·      What is SAM and why is it important?

·      Explanation of the new ISO 19770-1 SAM Standard

·      SAM tools and techniques

·      How to introduce a SAM program in your organisation

·      Practical self-auditing techniques to determine your own company’s compliance position

·      Case studies

 

Smartpath will also offer private in-house training workshops to outsourcers, Large Account Resellers (LARS), distributors and risk management consultancies. The in-house workshops will be aimed at educating key channels about the critical importance of SAM so that, in turn, the channel can provide value-added SAM services to their own customers.

 

- ENDS -

 

 About Smartpath

Smartpath is an Australian-owned dedicated supplier of asset management and tracking software, services and solutions.  Smartpath’s expertise, technology and business processes ensure businesses extract maximum value from corporate assets.  Smartpath’s flagship software suite, Loc8, combines asset auditing, consulting, application development, systems integration, and education services, to deliver single-source solutions in asset management, software asset management and maintenance management.

 

Smartpath’s services and products are marketed through its direct sales team as well as a network of national and international certified partners. Alliance partners include ARA Group, Adobe, Centennial Software, Microsoft, The Peer Partnership, PMPartners, Promin, and William Buck.

 

For futher information please contact:

 Scott Pettet

LEWIS PR

02 9901 4235

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


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