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IBSMA and SAM Standards ISO/IEC 19770-2 | Software Identity Tagging Charles Ansell is the IBSMA's liaison for SAM standards activities. Please contact IBSMA with inquiries or questions on the latest developments or information on how to register input on any of these activities. ISO/IEC 19770-2 | Software Identity Tagging IBSMA completed an initial draft in May 2007, which described a data model for software identity tags, determining what identification information software publishers and authorized re-sellers should include in tags, as well as where and in what format. IBSMA granted rights to ISO for further development and publication of the standard. For more information on the content of the prospective ISO/IEC 19770-2, please refer to SAM Standards Explained. Between January and May 2008 a WG21 subcommittee, led by Steven Klos of Agnitio Advisors, updated and released a new working document for public review and comment. The latest version offers a revised data model and adds an XML schema definition that clarifies software identity tag creation, modification and consumption. Group members and liaisons incorporated public comments and changes in advance of the SC7 plenary meeting in Berlin (May 19-23, 2008). Steven Russman and Charles Ansell of IBSMA were nominated by the U.S. national standards body to represent the United States at the meeting. IBSMA representatives met other members of WG21, including representatives from other countries, and voted for ratification of the document as a final committee draft (FCD) standard. The final publicly available draft was transferred to SC7 at the conclusion of the Berlin meeting. This final public version is available for download. Now an FCD, ISO/IEC 19770-2 advanced to the enquiry stage and will circulate among SC7 member bodies for a voting period of five months (until October 2008). The ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 (5th Edition, 2004) outlines the project stages for standards development, which are summarized in Table 1 below. Table 1: Summary of the Stages of Standards Progress
If the FCD is approved in October, it can advance to the approval stage; or if it receives no negative votes, it may proceed directly to publication as an international standard. If approval criteria are not met, it may then circulate as a revised enquiry draft or committee draft for comments, or be up for discussion at a subsequent SC7 meeting. The IBSMA expects the document’s formal approval and public release in May 2009. The IBSMA also promotes its adoption on the part of publishers, SAM tool vendors and end users, in the belief that a standard for software identity tagging will go a long way to streamlining SAM processes, especially those aligned with ISO/IEC 19770-1. ISO/IEC 19770-3 | Software Entitlement Tagging Provided by software publishers and authorized re-sellers, entitlement data elements describe product use rights specified in software license agreements, such as license terms, pricing metrics and locations for deployment. The entitlement data may be used to reconcile with software inventory data to support license compliance processes. The entitlement elements specified in the standard would reconcile with publisher-provided standard identity elements, specified in the format and location mandated by ISO/IEC 19770-2. If adopted, an entitlement tagging standard, working in tandem with one for identity tagging, would do much to streamline license compliance tasks. For more on how these two standards would interoperate with each other, as well as with ISO/IEC 19770-1, refer to SAM Standards Explained. Last year, Tomeny chaired the IBSMA Software Licensing Practices Committee (SLPC) and developed a framework for an international software entitlements tagging standard. Because of the consistency in leadership, the IBSMA has reason to expect the OWG to use the SLPC’s work as inspiration and guidance when developing content. Download the Framework and Data Standard for Software-use Entitlement: A Status Report. OWG members will ultimately determine the content of the new standard though the IBSMA believes the draft standard will include, among other items, entitlement element enumeration and exemplification for the benefit of adopting publishers, as well as an XML schema definition describing entitlement tag creation, modification and consumption. Such content would align with ISO/IEC 19770-2. According to Tomeny, the OWG intends to submit a draft document to WG21 at the next SC7 plenary in India in May 2009. The exact date and location of the plenary meeting have not been determined. *Other Working Groups may be formed by the Convener of a Working Group to handle officially sanctioned tasks or projects. Members of OWGs are not required to be members of country standards bodies or to represent an SC7 liaison, which is a requirement for membership in an SC7 Working Group. The use of OWGs expands the range of people who may participate in standards development. IBSMA SAM Glossary & ISO/IEC 19770-1 Review ISO/IEC 19770-1 Review Discussion on review of ISO/IEC 19770-1 commenced in Berlin in May 2008, and the IBSMA expects developments at the WG21 interim meeting this October, the date and time for which has yet to be determined. We also expect heightened discussion, both within WG21 and the SAM community as a whole, on creating a process assessment model for ISO/IEC 19770-1 and for certification of software license compliance processes. Such a model is in high demand, because, as the standard is written, conformance for an organization’s certification is an all-or-nothing undertaking. Only organizations of exceptional SAM and IT service management process maturity can meet all outcomes called for in the standard. An industry-standard process assessment model would allow for partial certification of an organization’s SAM process maturity. We invite IBSMA members and qualified contributors to register input for possible revision, extension or elimination of ISO/IEC 19770-1, or for development of a process assessment model. Charles Ansell is the IBSMA's liaison for SAM standards activities. Please contact IBSMA with inquiries or questions on the latest developments or information on how to register input on any of these activities. Get Involved! Much of the work of drafting standards involves dealing with technical comments and lobbying for votes at SC7 meetings. Members of national standards bodies (e.g., the IBSMA is a member of the U.S. TAG and a voting SC7 member), SC7 liaisons* and their delegates are eligible to attend SC7 meetings at which discussions, revisions and votes control the fates of standards. Nonmembers and visitors are not permitted at SC7 meetings and SC7 liaisons do not vote on SC7 initiatives. If standards development is important to you or your company, and you want to ensure ongoing input and a voice on standards processes, the IBSMA urges U.S. nationals and citizens to work with the IBSMA and the U.S. TAG. The IBSMA sends delegates to U.S. TAG and SC7 meetings year round; next events include the U.S. TAG meeting September 16-18 at the Institute for Defense Analysis in Alexandria, Virginia, and the WG 21 interim meeting in October. At U.S. TAG meetings, members formulate the official U.S. positions on SAM standards. If you are interested in being a part of the U.S. delegation on SAM standards, or learning more about the standards process in general, contact IBSMA. *The Business Software Alliance (BSA), International Association of Information Technology Asset Managers (IAITAM) and ISACA have requested liaison status for SC7 and their applications are pending approval. The IT Service Management Forum (itSMF) is an SC7 liaison. Notes and releases IBSMA Joins Industry Effort to Promote SAM in China (Apr. 10, 2008) Framework and Data Standard for Software-use Entitlement: A Status Report (includes the framework and data standard) SAM Industry to Weigh In on New Software Tag Standards (Jan. 24, 2007) SAM Standards Go International (excerpt from Tools Manager, Fall 2006) SAM Pros See High Demand for ISO 19770 Standards (October 2006) SAM Standards Explained (July 2007) Links for more information
IBSMA works to ensure the goals and agenda of the work groups are consistent with those of the association. All formal communications in the name of IBSMA must be reviewed and approved by the IBSMA Executive Office. IBSMA does not endorse and is not responsible for statements made by committee members as representative of their organizations. Questions? E-mail to Inquiry@ECPWeb.com or call 734.930.1925. To be added to IBSMA's e-mail list on SAM standards, click on the link at the bottom of this page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
