09.03.18
Building SAM into every cloud project
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Craig Taylor of Phoenix Software discusses the importance of considering Software Asset Management (SAM) at every stage of your cloud migration to better monitor costs, manage the project, and maintain compliance.
Change isn’t easy. From introducing new ways of working, managing a different delivery model, or running a different IT estate, it all takes some getting used to. And, despite what many companies believe, that goes for cloud migration too.
In theory, software licensing in the cloud should be simple:
- Customers should only pay for what they use;
- Customers should be able to ramp licensing up and down as needed;
- Customers should therefore be able to forecast and predict cost.
But in reality, if it’s not properly managed, software licensing in the cloud gets complicated. It can become a burden both financially and in terms of resource, and it can send your business case out the window.
Before taking on cloud migration, an organisation must bring together its key stakeholders. Procurement, licensing & finance, service leads, infrastructure managers, and IT directors should collectively agree that the proposed technical solution is maximising previous licensing allocation in order to be confident they’re selecting the right licensing model for the business.
Upon completion, managing the IT estate is paramount. Track usage, reassign licenses, and right-size new allocations to make the most of licensing entitlements and ensure cloud workloads operate as expected. A SAM Managed Service agreement can take this on, as can the billing portals included in public cloud providers such as Azure.
Whether your organisation is new to SAM, or is revamping a more mature solution, there will be a period of adjustment. Work closely with your IT infrastructure provider to ensure you’re taking the best possible path to transition.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
W: www.phoenixs.co.uk