The Most Comprehensive SCCA & SAM Certifications in the Industry!

The Institute for Technology Asset Management is proud to announce the introduction of the most comprehensive professional development training in the industry. The new SCCA & SAM certifications are based on direct input from our member practitioners & supplemented by the guidance of business & academic training experts. 

Based upon, but not constrained by, such industry standard practices as ITil, COSO, COBIT, PMI, & ISO,* The Institute programs reach across the entire range of individual competencies, infrastructure capabilities, industries, & global cultures to deliver scalable common sense ITAM value to any enterprise - And we do it through training practitioners to genuinely perform the work necessary to get the job done.

The Institute's unique Software & Copyright Compliance Assurance Certification (SCCA) provides practitioners with the only evolutionary program that is founded on initiating a SAM framework via ensuring that the enterprise becomes & remains as compliant as possible with local & global software license & copyright requirements.

The Institute's Software Asset Management Certification (SAM) delivers significantly more real world competencies & training experience to practitioners than ever before in the industry.

Each of these certification programs also distinguishes itself by being the first in the industry to be founded upon open source standards as documented in the Institute's cost-effective "Guide to the Technology Asset Management Body of Knowledge" - TAMBOK (Available HERE). Credential candidates & credential holders need no longer be tied down to proprietary training programs delivered by sole-source providers. Via The Institute's certification programming, practitioners can now attend an enormous range of local training sessions & apply the knowledge directly to their upcoming or ongoing certifications.

Both the SCCA & SAM programs are also unique in that they are delivered entirely online via an on demand Learning Management System. This means that you do not spend unnecessary time & money in traveling to the basics. Instead, you'll cover substantially more information in the same amount of time & at less cost than competitive certification programs.

Take a look at the next generation of SCCA & SAM Certifications in the Overview below.  Merely click the arrows to move forward or back. Or, to automate the session, click on the drop down timer at the bottom right of the small video screen. Once you start, you are also free to maximize the screen (press escape to end at any time.):

 

The Institute SCCA & SAM Certification Programs on Prezi

As a non-profit educational community of practitioners in the technology (IT) asset management fields, The Institute is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive knowledge possible to the widest range of people & enterprises around the globe.


*ITil, COSO, COBIT, & ISO are registered trademarks of their respective organizations. The Institute does not have any formal relationship with these organizations.

A Software License Is NOT a Software License

I just read an excellent post on the ITAM Review. It's entitled "Oracle Customer Has Licensing Meltdown" and is located HERE.  Please take time to look it over. Both Martin & the original author have excellent points - points about software licensing issues that we continue to encounter yet never effectively address in the real world.

Software License Terms & Conditions Can Be Changed By The Licensor At Any Time & Without Directly Notifying You.

The key problem is this: As business technology consumers, specifically software consumers, we do not effectively negotiate our licenses. If we did, then we'd actually have to read the license. Having read a software license, and actually understood the inherent instability of the agreement, any sane negotiator would - or rather should - dump the product & the supplier right out of the supply chain and move on to their BATNA.

Instead, we either fail to read the license; or we do not understand what we're reading; or we assume that the copyright holder won't actually enforce the terms; or we treat the acquisition the same as a crack junky desperate for their latest fix - purchasing without regard to future problems.

Here's the bottom line: If you see a clause in a license that looks like this -

Modifications To This Agreement

"We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify or otherwise alter these terms and conditions at any time. You can find the most recent version of these terms and conditions on the Site, with the date of last modification noted above. Such modifications shall become effective immediately upon the posting thereof. Therefore, we encourage you to check the date of our terms and conditions whenever you visit this Site to check if they have been updated. You must review this agreement on a regular basis to keep yourself apprised of any changes. If you do not agree to the revised terms and conditions, your sole recourse is to immediately stop all use of the Services. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of modifications will constitute your acceptance of the revised terms and conditions."

It means you do not have stability relating to your existing license terms. This basic wording will show up in your original license as well as contract renewals, updates, upgrades, (even patches) so look for it BEFORE installing. Once you have activated the license by installing (or even accessing) the product, you are stuck with the new terms.

Keep in mind that each of these license agreements also includes a "Right to Audit" clause that will be enforced by the licensor. During that audit, you will be responsible for conforming to the CURRENT terms & conditions for each product. If you are not up to speed on those changes, the auditors don't particularly care. You will pay the fines & penalties for being out of compliance.