SAM is an integrated set of policies, processes, people and tools dedicated to the active management of software assets within an organization.

An effective SAM program protects your school's software investment and helps you recognize what you have deployed and any licensing overlap. In addition to reducing the risks of non-compliance, implementing an effective SAM program will help your school control spending, save money, operate more efficiently, and stay ahead of the competition. SAM is essential in today's IT world.

Why is SAM Important to Your School?
Improperly licensed software carries significant legal and financial risks for any organization. Full software license compliance is demanded by software publishers and enforcement groups like the Business Software Alliance. As a result, the ability to effectively keep track of software licenses and deployments is an imperative.

Unlike hardware, software is virtual, is difficult to inventory, and user needs as well as licensing rules and programs, are constantly changing. As a result, ensuring license compliance can be both complex and time-consuming. How does an organization ensure that they are properly licensed on an ongoing basis?

The JourneyEd SAM Program
To address this critical area of IT management, JourneyEd.com, Inc. is pleased to announce the JourneyEd SAM Program. In partnership with experienced firms who specialize in managing software assets, the JourneyEd SAM Program can provide you with an effective SAM program that is tailored to the unique needs of your school and based on a firm foundation of industry-recognized best practices.

Consider these ten questions to determine if implementing a SAM program could benefit your school:

1. Do you know the exact number of desktops, laptops, and servers in your organization?
2. Do you know exactly what software is installed on every computer?
3. Can you prove within a week that you are in license compliance?
4. Does your organization have an auto-discovery inventory tool?
5. Have you conducted an internal audit within the past six months?
6. Do you maintain a database of the licenses you own and the software you have deployed?
7. Is software media organized and stored in a secure, central location?
8. Are computers locked down to prevent unauthorized installations?
9. Do you have documented processes and procedures for managing software assets?
10. Are you certain you are buying your software in the most efficient and cost effective manner?

If you answered, "Yes" to all of these questions, your school has a strong sense of the importance of managing software assets. The JourneyEd SAM Program can help you further develop and formalize your SAM practices to further reduce risks, reduce costs, and improve your operating efficiency. If you answered, "No" to some or all of these questions, an even greater need to develop a SAM program may exist in your organization.

JourneyEd SAM Services
We provide our clients with a strategic analysis of the licenses they own and the software they have deployed. We help them develop an effective SAM program that is tailored to their unique needs and based on a firm foundation of industry-recognized best practices, focusing on:

• We identify the right roles for the right people, and educate and train personnel in their roles related to SAM.
• We evaluate the current maturity of an organization’s SAM processes, compared to industryrecognized best practices, and recommend gap-closing strategies.
• We assist with the selection, implementation and optimization of SAM tools.
• We recommend policies and procedures to efficiently govern the management of software assets at each stage of their lifecycle.

The Advantage of Working With a JourneyEd SAM Program Specialist
The JourneyEd SAM Program partners bring in-depth knowledge of software licensing and SAM best practices to apply the right policies, processes, and procedures to manage software assets. They have a strong understanding of software publisher licensing programs and product use rights. The SAM Program partners use refined tool sets and project management strategies specifically designed for SAM. They are therefore able to rapidly inventory software assets in networks of any size or topography and eliminate the need to invest large amounts of your IT staff’s time. Outsourcing this work to a specialist is more cost effective than performing it internally.

Click here to view a Video Presentation about the SAM Program.