Sponsored By:
Octavio Patino Jr
Senior Manager IT
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Battling the Tech Vendors: Optimising Licence Spend and Avoiding Audit Risk Market View Report
According to a recent Forbes article, nearly 38% of software is wasted, amounting to billions of dollars. In your opinion, what are the main influencing factors for this?
Billions of software waste is influenced by several factors. Firstly, understanding software usage analytics is crucial. It helps determine if the software is customized or off-the-shelf and provides insights into usage patterns. Secondly, contractual terms play a role. Organizations need to consider the maturity of their software usage practices and ensure contract terms align with their needs.
A recent Gartner article stated that 60% of enterprises will underestimate cloud infrastructure and platform consumption rates through 2024, resulting in higher costs and missed savings opportunities. How do you forecast software consumption, mitigate unforeseen costs, and maintain control over spend in your organization?
For forecast software consumption, its required to adopt a proactive demand approach by engaging with business stakeholders and groups intentionally. Additionally, you need to focus on leveraging contractual software levers such as tier pricing, renewal options, and activities like credits or termination terms. Managing spend with automated reports is crucial to maintain spend control, and in tandem collaborate closely with the finance department to ensure effective cost control.
Dealing with the ever-increasing complexity of enterprise software and cloud estate can be challenging. What major challenges do you face in this area?
One of the major challenges is conflicting timelines and demands from various business units. The contradictions make it difficult to enforce purchasing and finance policies consistently. The need is to strive for efficiency and accurate spend forecasting, it's not always achievable due to conflicting timelines. Another concern is the occurrence of unplanned software usage through unauthorized access or maverick budget allocation lacking proper tracking or awareness. To address these challenges, encourage creating transparency across the enterprise. The aim is to effectively manage each software license, identify valid requirements, and prioritize actions during lifecycle spend. Do not overlook collaboration with different groups, leveraging available resources, and accounting risks- especiallysecurity concerns.
To forecast software consumption, adopt a proactive demand approach by engaging with business stakeholders and groups intentionally
Planning for enterprise software vendor negotiations is a critical aspect. What would you say are the most important considerations when preparing for such negotiations?
Timing is a crucial consideration, it’s advisable to start the negotiation process at least a year in advance, accounting for potential delays, transition periods, and training requirements. Exploring alternatives concurrently, such as reexamining proposals from incumbents and competitors, or going to the market, is also important. Understanding the vendor's relationship objectives, fiscal year, technology roadmap, and growth areas help aligning negotiation strategies effectively.
How high up is software asset management (SAM) on your organization's agenda, and why is it given such priority?
Currently, we are revamping the Vendor Management Office (VMO) and the SAM group, giving SAM a high priority. SAM is placed under the responsibility of the Technology Asset Management (TAM) team. The groups are being re-branded as Vendor Asset Management (VAM). We heavily rely on software outputs from stakeholders, but the investment each stakeholder has can pose challenges. We aim to improve communication to avoid spending excessive time on software usage.
How does your organization prepare for software vendor audits to ensure compliance with license agreements and prevent any unauthorized software usage?
Most leverage the SAM group to generate reports using different technologies, providing information based on the specific software products. Work closely with designated groups to conduct independent audits as per the requests received. Additionally, negotiate strong pre-contract audit terms with procurement. If possible, move towards self-reporting, which streamlines the process and ensures effectiveness. Leveraging existing technology also helps in this regard.
Another concern is the occurrence of unplanned software usage through unauthorized access or budget allocation without proper tracking or awareness.
AbbVie is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative therapies for serious health conditions. With expertise in immunology, oncology, and more, AbbVie develops breakthrough treatments that improve patient lives. Committed to research, collaboration, and social responsibility, AbbVie drives advancements in healthcare worldwide. Making a lasting impact through scientific innovation and patient-centered care.
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