THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE IN SOFTWARE ASSET MANAGEMENT

Who doesn’t know it – the Bermuda Triangle between the southern tip of Florida, the Bermuda Islands and Puerto Rico? The Bermuda Triangle evokes a sense of uncertainty. Ships and planes are said to have disappeared here. The emphasis is on “should”. Is there a reasonable explanation for each of these mysterious disappearances? To correct the feeling of uncertainty, only research helps.

But what is the Bermuda Triangle in Software Asset Management? Here, too, something disappears, namely knowledge and, it seems, also one or the other licence. This Bermuda triangle extends between the processes of notification of requirements, procurement and delivery, or thought of in departments: between requisitioners (e. g. project managers), purchasing and IT.

A classic example:
A digitization project is started by top management. The project manager realizes that a certain piece of software is urgently needed because his project is important and should be completed quickly. Purchasing checks, quite correctly, whether the software is within budget, whether the purchasing guidelines are adhered to, and finally procures it. IT starts the installation before the user rights are documented. After all, the project manager pushes.

At some point, the project is completed, external consultants leave the company and internal employees move on to other tasks.

Years later, the software manufacturer announces an audit and the search in the Bermuda Triangle begins.

Who was responsible for the procured software? Where is it used and how can it be used? And who actually has the contract or the license documents? The stress begins with difficult investigations.

Once you are lost in the Bermuda Triangle, the only thing to do is to search or possibly make expensive additional payments.

Have you ever been searching in the Bermuda Triangle of software asset management?

What can you change to avoid the Bermuda Triangle?

– Create clear internal rules on how to deal with the licenses acquired
– Define product owners who are responsible for ensuring compliance with the rules
– Sharpen your understanding of software asset management in the company

The internal rules should first be defined in the central circle around software procurement, storage, use and decommissioning. Depending on the quantity of products used, it is helpful to define responsible persons who work on the internal rules and then implement them.

Sharpening the understanding of software asset management in all departments ultimately helps to avoid costs and to be well prepared for an audit by, for example:

– Maintenance contracts are terminated in good time – Is software still needed?
– Devices that are no longer used are recognized – Do these devices still have to be licensed?
– A change of department of employees is taken into account – Which software does the employee need in his new role?

The processes that play a role in the Bermuda Triangle of software asset management are illustrated on the website of our partner SAM Charter. The overview is available to download free of charge: