$250BN annual software maintenance market needs more scrutiny, a strategic opportunity for ITAM
The Campaign for Clear Licensing is pleased to present a new report on the software support and maintenance market. Thank you to everyone in the ITAM Review community who took the time to participate.
Download the report here:
http://clearlicensing.org/2018/09/11/250bn/
This research project has been kindly sponsored by Origina.
Origina are the “World’s leading, independent, third party IBM software support specialist“. Learn more about Origina here: https://www.origina.com/
Executive Summary
$250BN annual software maintenance market needs more scrutiny, a strategic opportunity for ITAM
Many organisations spend a huge proportion of their annual IT budget on paying for existing software support and maintenance contracts. The market is estimated to be worth $250BN.
The typical survey respondent had no idea of support volumes, support quality or the strategic value of software maintenance renewals.
This research is a call-to-action for organisations to get a handle on this major area of spend and apply ITAM best practices to optimise spend and lower risk.
The key findings in this paper include:
- Software maintenance renewals need more scrutiny
- Security options need more clarity
- There is a strategic opportunity for ITAM to own the renewals process
Industry trends identified include:
- Organisations renewing contracts as the path of least resistance
- Scarcity of information regarding true consumer rights and entitlement
- Hardware merging into software
- Products merging into maintenance
Key Actions:
- Lawmakers need to seriously consider the long-term consequences of these trends in an Internet of things era – in the interests of consumer rights, security and environmental impact.
- IT Asset Managers can create a huge amount of value by setting up a rigorous process for support renewals.
- The IT community would benefit from an open access library to crowdsource intelligence on support and maintenance contracts
Download the report here:
http://clearlicensing.org/2018/09/11/250bn/
Please read, share and provide your feedback.
Cheers, Martin
About Martin Thompson
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.
An interesting piece of research from CCL around support and maintenance. I am surprised that SAM professionals don’t have more control of the renewal spend.
For me it is all about positioning yourself as someone who gives out the “Marching Orders” so you become the influencer of software spend and not just the people who monitor the ups and downs , once this happens SAM has a level of control.
I would support the view around giving this spend more scrutiny, the devil is in the detail and you need to understand what the software is used for in order to make informed decisions on whether the renewal is required and any associated risks.
I personally employed the strategy of not renewing as the default position, which enables the value debate with interested parties and gives the SAM function some deserved increased visibility. It good to remind the business that we are here to and have the ability to add true value and not just provide a compliance function.
Interested to hear other views and if anyone wants a chat about my previous approach at BT , please make contact.