Transparency, optimisation and savings for Government with Software Asset Management

Our client manages a complex IT environment that encompasses mainframe, midrange (developer, test, and production levels) and desktop environments.

As with nearly all government agencies, our client faced a common challenge of trying to deliver increased services despite diminishing operating budgets, and as part of its strategic objectives, it was looking closely at its IT department, to see where it could save costs.

In particular, the organisation had identified a large and ever-increasing portion of its IT budget was related to the purchase and ongoing maintenance of commercial off-the-shelf software. The software it uses to enable its environment is sourced through various arrangements, including via software resellers, directly from vendors, and is also often provided as part of service arrangements with third-party service providers. This level of complexity made it extremely difficult for the client to adequately manage its software assets, which led to the inefficient usage of software, and sub-optimal commercial arrangements.

With planned growth in the future, our client wanted to increase its capability to provide visibility over its holistic software usage, contracts, and obligated vendor requirements. This would also ensure that legal risks such as vendor penalties from non-compliant deployments would not threaten its public reputation or result in penalties.

To achieve this, our client wanted to establish a fully managed Software Asset Management (SAM) service that would enable it to track software assets across all areas and at various points of its lifecycle, and in turn, enable it to effectively negotiate contracts.

The objectives of the service were to:

• Achieve tangible savings, cost avoidance and improved delivery of services to Agency software consumers.
• Increase awareness and mitigation of commercial and business risks.
• Improve vendor relationships and return on investment.