Fiscal Cliff + NDAA = Software Asset Management (SAM)

Short Summary: The federal government of the United States has clearly stated that, by law, DOD Departments need to get their software asset management (SAM) infrastructure/framework in order. Key success factor targets:

• Establish & pursue a FORMAL PLAN for managing software assets
• Conduct (& document) a formal software asset inventory
• Gain & maintain control over software inventories
• Reduce existing spend & establish control over future software-related spending
• Optimize use of existing software inventory
• Optimize ROI
• Brief Congressional Committee of results on a yearly basis

The Story - Many Americans observed the fiscal cliff activities in Washington, D.C. during December 2012 and into the first week of January 2013. All that politically charged action resulted in Congress passing the 700 page, National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) covering budgeting and authorizing spending for the Department of Defense (DOD). NDAA was signed it into law by President Obama on January 2, 2013.
 
What's in it for You? Why would this Federal Act be important to software asset managers, or the IT asset management community at large?  The answer is simple: Section 937 (pp. 256-257)  requires–by law—that the Department of Defense (DOD) establish, or enhance, its framework for Optimizing the Software License Portfolio Management. Effective Software Asset Management--optimizing value while minimizing risk--"should" be absolutely vital services for ANY practicing software or information technology asset manager (SAM / ITAM).

Setting the Stage for Software Asset Management - Much of the ground work for Section 937 could conceivably have been established (and essentially ignored?) by President Clinton’s Executive Order 13103, issued on September 30th, 1998. Clinton’s Order, while specifically attempting to ensure that governmental departments monitor their environments to eliminate potential “Software Piracy” issues, essentially clarified the critical need to establish, and maintain, a comprehensive as well as effective software asset management framework within those governmental departments. (Click HERE to read &/or download Executive Order 13103)

The Cold Hard Facts of the National Defense Authorization Act:
Take a brief look through Section 937 of the NDAA. We’ve added underlining and color to highlight many of the critical issues that software asset managers (SAM) as well as IT asset managers (ITAM) need to consider.

SEC. 937. SOFTWARE LICENSES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
(a) PLAN FOR INVENTORY OF LICENSES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Information Officer
of the Department of the Defense shall, in consultation with
the chief information officers of the military departments and
the Defense Agencies, issue a plan for the inventory of selected
software licenses of the Department of Defense, including a
comparison of licenses purchased with licenses installed.
(2) SELECTED SOFTWARE LICENSES.—The Chief Information
Officer shall determine the software licenses to be treated as
selected software licenses of the Department for purposes of
this section. The licenses shall be determined so as to maximize
the return on investment in the inventory conducted pursuant
to the plan required by paragraph (1).
H. R. 4310—257
(3) PLAN ELEMENTS.—The plan under paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
(A) An identification and explanation of the software
licenses determined by the Chief Information Officer under
paragraph (2) to be selected software licenses for purposes
of this section, and a summary outline of the software
licenses determined not to be selected software licensesfor such purposes.
(B) Means to assess the needs of the Department and
the components of the Department for selected softwarelicenses during the two fiscal years following the date of
the issuance of the plan.
(C) Means by which the Department can achieve the
greatest possible economies of scale and cost savings in
the procurement, use, and optimization of selected softwarelicenses.
(b) PERFORMANCE PLAN.—If the Chief Information Officer determines
through the inventory conducted pursuant to the plan
required by subsection (a) that the number of selected software
licenses of the Department and the components of the Departmentexceeds the needs of the Department for such software licenses,
the Secretary of Defense shall implement a plan to bring the number of such software licenses into balance with the needs of the Department.

While you may not work for the federal government, or even in the United States, the requirements defined by this act represent the absolute minimum of infrastructure that software asset managers (SAM) and IT asset managers (ITAM) need to put in place—and maintain—for their enterprises. 

Are you genuinely covering these issues in your technology portfolio management (TPM) services?

Of equal importance, it’s time for business leadership to recognize that the infrastructure we put in place to manage costly software assets is precisely the same infrastructure that we expand to cover the entire IT portfolio of goods, services, and contractual relationships. When we build this infrastructure—this asset management framework—from the bottom up, we establish a significantly more powerful foundation for gaining and maintaining optimal ROI value (while reducing risk) within the IT portfolio.
 
And, please, don't forget, the only effective method for identifying software is contingent up our abilities to actively and accurately discover hardware. Software and hardware asset management are part and parcel to the same basket of services—and competencies—delivered to the enterprise by the effective IT asset management professional. 
 
Want more? The Institute for Technology Asset Management (ITAM) is your primary source for competency-based professional development. Only the Institute provides you with the key knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques necessary to succeed in the field. Take a look at a selection of overviews for our ground-breaking online—on-demand—professional development programs HERE.