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NEW PUBLICATIONS SAM Managers Say Honesty the Best Policy, Tools Manager CMDB Review Fall 2007, IT Service Manager (April '07) and 2007 Survey Report on Software and IT Asset Management

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• SAM Managers Say Honesty the Best Policy You get a registered letter, e-mail or telephone call from a software publisher or association who wants to know how you’re using their software, and maybe wants to stop by for a look-see at how you keep track of software licenses. Whether just a shot across the bow or a prelude to a full-blown audit that could chew up a month’s time, contact from publishers can be a source of dread and can leave an enduring sore spot afterward.

Recent ECPweb surveys (see ECP’s 2007 Survey Report on Software and IT Asset Management) indicate that software-license compliance audits are as prevalent as ever. So how do you contend with inquiries from publishers and their representatives and, when they follow, audits? We asked specialists in Europe and the United States from several different kinds of companies: banks, manufacturers, insurers and consultants. We found differences—and some striking similarities—in their responses.

In the report, filled with direct quotes from end users, you'll read about audit methods and frequency, targeting, audit outcomes and experiences and lessons learned.

• Software Manager Report on Adobe License Manager
  Adobe’s new license manager for business and government customers employs embedded e-licensing technology to accurately and automatically track deployment of its products. The compulsory system costs nothing for volume purchasers, but Adobe products will henceforth be “license aware,” rendering unlicensed software unusable (individual buyers will continue to use standard Adobe product activation procedures). A major boost to Adobe’s ability to fight software piracy, Adobe License Manager should appeal to software managers who understand the importance of license compliance.

• Software Manager is included in the Nov. issue of TAM

• Improving Power Positioning in Software
  Contract Negotiations

• Microsoft Software Assurance: Past and Present

• Key Elements of Contract Negotiation Preparedness: Creating a Contract Strategy

• Los Angeles County’s Internal Services Department Drafts A Roadmap to SAM Improvement
• SAM Benchmark’s 8 Key Success Factors
• Poll: Savings With Asset Management
• Future Savings Hinge on Commitment to SAM

• Software Manager not published in May 04

• Ask the Experts: Is a One-Time Inventory Better Than Nothing
• Assessing Your IT Maturity
• Putting the Model to Work: Asset Management Maturity Levels and Attributes

• Software Asset Management: Implementation Planning
• Software Contracting Issues During Server Consolidation and Downsizing

• Software Asset Management: Determining Direction
• Playing Hide and Seek with Regulators: Why Companies Fail to Comply
• When Upgrades Have Strings Attached
• When Free Software Has Strings Attached
• BMC’s Acquisition of Magic Solutions: It Doesn’t Add Up

• Preventing and Managing a Software Crisis
• Software Asset Management: The Reporting Function
• User Rankings: Top 10 Discovery Tools

• Software Asset Management: Reconciling Software Against Usage
• Computer Associates' FlexSelect Licensing

• Software Asset Management: Managing Installed Software
• Preserving Software Rights
• New Technology Challenges the Status Quo in Software Packaging

October 03

• Software Asset Management: The Contract Management Connection
• Usage-Based Software Pricing By Cicala & Associates

RFID: The Long Road from Hype to Reality
When exciting new technologies arrive on the scene, the asset-management
industry is sometimes prone to hype. The emerging technology of radio frequency identification (RFID) has had such an effect, due to its impressive potential for tracking and identifying IT assets in large and dispersed inventories.
However, now that the industry has had time for a more sober appraisal, it has become apparent that RFID has a long way to go before it can live up to the hype.

September 05
Special Issue. This issue is available in print and PDF.

• Tools Manager - We compare application services for IT asset and software management. Check out the latest Assessment Matrix and ratings chart.
• Resources Manager - Save this handy reference guide with links to ITAM and SAM specialty services. Plus - our list of certified ITAM tools.
• ECP Survey: SAM Yields Substantial Savings on IT Outlays Companies employing SAM programs achieved an average 131 percent return on investment, significantly reducing their overall cost of delivering IT services.
• Software Compliance and Sarbanes–Oxley: Understanding the Connection

July 05
This issue is available online.

• IBM Boosts Software Discovery Line by Acquiring Isogon
• The Horizon Brightens for Peregrine Systems
• CA Readies New Release of Unicenter Argis for Fall
• Keep Accurate Invoices to Prove Ownership of Software Licenses

• Altiris Buys Pedestal Software for Its Security-Management Tools
• Scalable Software Release Survey 3.6
• Novell's Purchase of Tally Systems Strengthens Asset Management Tools

• ECP Survey: Cost Reduction and Compliance Top Reasons for SAM and ITAM
  Programs
• Enterprise Licensing Is Preferred Enforcement Method—for Now

• A Decision-Support Program Can Unearth a Trove of Savings
• Dedicated to Improvement: A Canadian Approach to ITIL
• Navigating the Tools Landscape—Part One of a Multi-Part Series Covering Tool Evaluation and Selection
• Macrovision Raises Profile as Provider of Software Compliance Tools
• Peregrine Improves AssetCenter
• ePlus Offers Solid Value in an Evolving Market
• Software Asset Management Assessments

• Lend Lease Leads the Way With New Infrastructure Roll-Out
• ECP Exclusive: Brian Johnson Discusses the Art of Building Bridges
• Using Legal Tactics to Defend Against Software Audits
• Setting the Standard for ITIL Best Practices
• The Next Generation of BMC’s Integrated Asset-Service Management Product
• Take the ECP Survey of Software and Asset Management Practices
  (available until April 4)

• Comparing Tools for Configuration and Software Asset Management
• ECP Exclusive: Interview With Karen Metrakos, CIO of Bank of Montreal
• Perspectives: The Future of Asset Management Services, From a U.K. Piracy Watchdog's Perspective
• Tools Manager: Unicenter Argis Portfolio Asset Management, by Computer Associates Download
• Product Comparison Chart: Tools for Software Management & Compliance
• Latest NetSupport Release Has Unique Features for Its Class
• Provance Set to Release Enhanced Version
• Everdream, an Impressive Offering from a Newcomer to Asset Management

• Tools Manager
  ECP is proud to introduce a new feature: Tools Manager brings you product assessments conducted by end users and our own experienced network of professionals. In its debut installment, we apply the same methodology used in past ECP end-user assessments to evaluate the features, functions and business value of leading software management tools. The unique design of Tools Manager includes product — and feature — comparison charts, an assessment matrix and a discussion of how we categorize the tools.
• Tools Manager Assessment Matrix
• Tools Manager Feature Comparison Chart (print on legal size paper)
• Product Comparison Charts: Business Value and Feature & Function Components
• End-User Assessment: Peregrine AssetCenter Peregrine AssetCenter 4
• Centennial Updates Discovery Product
• Compliance ’04 Wraps Up ECP’s 2004 Conference Calendar

• ECP Exclusive: Executive Reports on Software Asset Management
• What Good Telecom Managers Know — and What IT Asset Managers Can Learn from Them
• ECP Aims to Build Community Through Best-Practice Groups
• PS’SOFT Portal Centralizes Access to IT Assets
• HP Comes to Market With License Management Service
• New Altiris Portal a Promising Tool for Software Distribution and Management
• Does Your Antivirus Software Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley?
• COBIT Frameworks and IT Asset Management

Software Manager

• Creating a Strategy for Software Contract Negotiations
• Software Licensing: What Constitutes Proof?

• Tool Assessment: Altiris Asset Management Suite
• Nationwide Insurance to Preview Asset Life-Cycle Framework at ECP Symposium
• Museum of London Tackles IT Asset Management
• Software Asset Management: A Piece of the Compliance Puzzle
• Microsoft Announces New Windows Desktop — But It’s Not Likely to Solve Software Assurance Problems
• What DCML Means for Asset Management

• Profile : The One With the Best Plan Wins: Mark Bradley Talks About Service-Level Management and Surviving Mergers and Acquisitions
• Compliance: Managing SOX Compliance With Asset Management Tools
• Tools: Asset Management Tool Comparisons
• BSA’s Kruger to Speak at Gartner Summit
• Blazent Bridges the Reporting Gap With New Analytic Tools

• Asset Management Repository Assessment: MAXIMO MainControl
• User Poll: Top 10 Asset Management Products Under Review or Evaluation
• Case Study: Insurance Company Learns To Make FOAM and Influence Initiatives
• IBM Reports PC Leasing Increasing As Product Sales Rise
• Peregrine Systems Inc. Announces New Initiatives

• The Four Key Elements of Contract Negotiation Preparedness
• Quick-Fix Solutions: The Best and Worst Alternatives
• Ask the Experts: Far-Reaching Effects of Compliance on Data Storage Requirements
• Poll: Top 10 Interest Areas
• Isogon Signs IBM to Market SoftAudit for z/OS
• Service Providers Under the Compliance Microscope
• DCML Organization Releases Draft 1.0 Framework

• Asset Management Is Good For Business: Case Study
• Ask the Experts: Far Reaching Effects of Compliance on Data
  Storage Requirements
• Herding Cats and More at SAM Summit 2004 in Chicago
• Corporate Governance Delivers Bottom Line Results
• BMC Software to Acquire Marimba
• CA Acquires Miramar Systems
• Opsware Rebrands Tangram’s Asset Insight
• Scalable Software Enhances Support for SMS 2003

April 04 (407kb)

April 04 (3.42mb)

• IT Equipment Disposal – A Look at the Options
• Tally Systems Releases TS.Census License Compliance Suite
• Nationwide Insurance Adopts Process and Portfolio Management
• ECP Polls: Software Audits and Compliance

• A Guide to Value-Based Outsourcing: The Value Health Check
• IT Asset Tracking — Real-Life Lessons Learned
• Using and Disclosing Confidential Information
• T-Systems Excels in Asset Management Services
• Altiris Inc. Breaks New Ground with Release 6
• Profiles: Toby Redshaw with Motorola
• ECP Poll: Computer Disposal and Recycling

• Service Level Management at Zurich Life US
• Grid and Utility Computing — What’s the Difference?
• Avoiding the Fuzzy ROI Trap
• The Case of Lurking Contractual URLs: How to Mitigate Future Risks
• New Opportunities In PC Leasing

• Configuration Management at BMO Financial Group
• Discovery Tools – Delivering Unexpected and Recurring Value
• Calendar of Events
• Restarting a Failed IT Asset Management Program: Why Projects Fail
• Opsware To Acquire Tangram
• Altiris Acquires Wise Solutions
• User Rankings: Top 10 Service and Asset Management Tools

• Expanding the View of Infrastructure Management
• Solution Requirements for Managing Service Levels
• Using Return on Investment to Promote Profitability
• Analyzing Project Benefits with Project Portfolio Management
• Will IT Budgets Get a Boost as the Economy Improves?
• Return on Investment — Where is the Payoff?
• Calendar of Events

November 03

• Generating Value With Vendor and Contract Management
• Managing Service Levels
• 10 Simple Ways to Recover Profits in Your Enterprise
• Developing Value Propositions
• When Good Vendors Go Bad - A Customer Perspective
• Leasing Lessons: Court Rules in Favor of Lessee on Liquidated Damages

October 03

• In Search of Business Value: TCO Meets ROI
• Staffing for Asset Management: A Mixture of Skills and Teamwork
• The Truth About Service Level Management
• Market Watch
• Court Rules in Favor of Lessee's Right to Exercise End-of-Lease Options
• Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA: Why You Should Care
• Help Desk Tools Ranking

September 03

• The Compliance Quandary
• The Software Asset Management Balanced Score Card
• User-Based Licensing: Tips for Buyers
• Value-Based Software Asset Management
• Market Watch - News and Reviews
• Discovery Tools Survey Results and Assessment

• Lease Transactions Evolve as Off-Balance Sheet Rules Take Effect
• The Lessor Line-Up: It's the Independents vs. the Captives
• Overcoming Leasing Pitfalls
• An Eight-Point Guide to Understanding - and Negotiating - Your IT Equipment Lease
• Lease Management Tools: Features to Consider
• Determining Residual and Fair Market Values
• CA Unicenter: Solutions for Today

• New Products and Services
• Establishing Information Reliability
• Creating Relationship-Building Services
• Making the Case for Process-Focused Initiatives
• Unraveling the Mystery of Anti-Piracy Programs
• Before You Sign the Lease
• The Strengths and Weaknesses of Total Cost of Ownership

June 03

• Is ITIL in Your Future?
• Leveraging Tools for IT Asset Security
• Adapting ITIL Models for IT Asset Management
• Information Central . . The Asset Repository
• Ranking Asset Management Tools
• Developing the Asset Management Opportunity
• New Options for Asset Management Practices
• Balancing Service and Cost With Seat Management
• Automating Lease Invoice Reconciliation
• What's New in Isogon Galaxy

May 03

• UCITA: Protect Yourself
• Managing Risky Investments in Software
• Tracking UNIX Systems and Software with Isogon's SoftAudit for UNIX
• Leasing 101:  Understanding the Operating Lease
• Bringing Focus to Asset Management Practices
• Shifting the Balance in Single Source Negotiation
• What's New With Tangram