The ITAM Review

News, reviews and resources for worldwide ITAM, SAM and Licensing professionals.

SAM MSP Group Test 2015 – The Results

We are pleased to publish our 2015 review of worldwide SAM Managed Service Providers.

Download the full report below (no registration required):

https://marketplace.itassetmanagement.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/SAM-MSP-2015-Group-Test-15th-October-2015_FINAL.pdf

Continued Interest in SAM MSPs

There is considerable interest in ITAM managed services, although the market is very much in it’s infancy. The key difference when buying SAM Managed services rather than SAM tools and consulting is that organizations are buying an SLA or a business outcome rather than technology.

This group test looks at the capabilities of five leading SAM Managed Service Providers: Aspera, ITAMS, SHI, Softline and SoftwareOne.

Service providers were rated based on the expertise, methodology and strength of customer references.

General market observations during the study included the SAM and licensing industry skills shortage, the scope of services and the duration of service relationships.

A growth area for Channel Partners

Key messages for channel partners delivering SAM services or considering SAM:
  • This is a huge growth area and opportunity for the channel
  • 3 core business drivers for clients (Software compliance, efficient spend, agility through better asset data)
  • Clients are jumping in because expertise is scarce
  • Clients are not using this tactically but are sticking with MSPs in the longer term, making this a long term profitable proposition.
  • With the data generated from this exercise – partners can also help clients with strategic projects (Transformation, Cloud, Virtualisation and so on)

Softline tops the table again

Softline Solutions were awarded 2015 SAM Managed Service Provider Best in Class for the second time for highest overall score and providing a good mixture of relevant expertise, savvy methodology and strong customer references.

SAM-MSP-Results

Report Contents Summary

  • Introduction
  • Featured Providers
  • Assessment Criteria
  • Market Observations
  • Buyers Guide to selecting an MSP – General Advice
  • The Results – 2015 SAM Managed Service Provider Best in Class
  • Individual Provider Summaries

Download the full report here:

https://marketplace.itassetmanagement.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/SAM-MSP-2015-Group-Test-15th-October-2015_FINAL.pdf

The 2013 report, published January 2014, is available here.

About Martin Thompson

Martin is owner and founder of The ITAM Review, an online resource for worldwide ITAM professionals. The ITAM Review is best known for its weekly newsletter of all the latest industry updates, LISA training platform, Excellence Awards and conferences in UK, USA and Australia.

Martin is also the founder of ITAM Forum, a not-for-profit trade body for the ITAM industry created to raise the profile of the profession and bring an organisational certification to market. On a voluntary basis Martin is a contributor to ISO WG21 which develops the ITAM International Standard ISO/IEC 19770.

He is also the author of the book "Practical ITAM - The essential guide for IT Asset Managers", a book that describes how to get started and make a difference in the field of IT Asset Management. In addition, Martin developed the PITAM training course and certification.

Prior to founding the ITAM Review in 2008 Martin worked for Centennial Software (Ivanti), Silicon Graphics, CA Technologies and Computer 2000 (Tech Data).

When not working, Martin likes to Ski, Hike, Motorbike and spend time with his young family.

Connect with Martin on LinkedIn.

2 Comments

  1. Danny Begg says:

    This feature is nice but to see only a small amount of companies on the list for what is a global review is disappointing.
    I would like to know why others dropped out? why did they not take part. This only has real value if full buy in to the process is gained from the vast majority.
    Concorde
    Livingstone
    Version1
    Trustmarque
    Crayon
    Dimension Data
    HWFisher
    Certero
    Comparex

    The list is much longer and having them all weighted would provide valuable insight.

  2. Agreed. This is the last ‘ranked’ review we will do. Future reviews will simply be a verification against a standard – which we hope will be more popular amongst providers. Kudos to those that did participate and welcomed independent scrutiny. We invited a lot more including those on your list.

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