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27th January 2014 12:01 Back in 2011, Gartner predicted that the public cloud services subscription period, particularly Software as a Service (SaaS), would shrink from five years to three. Although this prediction has an end date of 2015 we are all seeing that nearly three years in, Gartner were in fact right. With this in mind we thought it would be appropriate to share awareness of their future predictions that, like (SaaS), will affect IT asset life cycles and their management, giving you a heads up of what will be coming and what could affect your organization.

Prediction One – IT costs will spiral unless you take control-1 This year Gartner predict that the growing demands of digital economy is driving IT toward a more dynamic and disposable approach to software licenses. As new challenges arise, driven by technology changes, IT procurement and asset managers are proactively trying to keep up by enhancing their software procurement and license management strategies. Gartner recommends that SAM managers revisit their asset life cycle assumptions, then plan and budget for shorter-term life cycles and financing. Identifying these costs then finding ways to reduce them will be vital to the process of adapting to this new digital economy.

Prediction Two - Subscription will take over perpetual licenses-2 By 2019, Gartner predict that cloud computing subscription licensing will take over perpetual; at License Dashboard, we’ve already seen a rise in the amount of subscription licenses sold for our flagship product so once again Gartner’s predictions are coming true. Alongside this, multiyear maintenance deals will start to dominate over perpetual agreements, we have seen companies with software on their network that hasn’t been used for years but the maintenance has automatically renewed, increasing unnecessary overspend. Multiyear maintenance will give you the chance to review your software usage then make an informed decision whether you need to renew or not. This makes disposable IT and software entitlements become increasingly popular as the perpetual licenses will not fit with the lengthier asset lifecycle. As the license management tools market expands, more large enterprises are turning to service providers to administer their skills. Going with a service provider can help your organization optimize the current SAM solution you have in place, plus eliminate the challenge of hiring multiple SAM experts and keeping their knowledge up to date. Building a business case to purchase a tool can be difficult, but having a license specialist at hand will help your organization regain control and comply with terms and conditions of any license agreement.

Prediction Three – A Managed Service will take over procuring a tool-3 By 2017, Gartner predict that enterprises will be spending ten times more on their Software Asset Management services then they do on their SAM tools today. In a recent License Dashboard poll, we found that nearly a quarter of SAM managers spend the majority of their time on the inventory side of SAM – a task that was automated over a decade ago! With the help of a licensing expert you can start to improve your daily tasks and help make the most of your precious time, Gartner recommend that you look for a provider with a proven track record of managing licenses and focus on the deliverables, not the tool. Knowing you are in the safe hands of a Managed Service will give you some piece of mind that you’re in control of your SAM programme. Fact – Top vendors that Audit its customers Each year, Gartner performs a survey at their annual ITFPAM events in London and America, the results from last year show that there is a 63 percent chance that organizations will be audited within the next twelve months. The focus was primarily on larger, 5,000 – 10,000 employee, companies, but this has now shifted to focus more towards 1,000 – 5,000 employees. Vendor % of audits preformed in 2012 IBM 51% Oracle 38% Microsoft 36% Adobe 36% SAP 19% IBM has remained top of the list, Oracle moved into second with the highest increase (previous year was 19%), Microsoft slipped into third position but still increased their audits. Adobe lowered their audit rate but, only marginally, from a previous percentage of 38 and SAP has come in a strong fifth position. With this in mind we feel there is no better time to speak to a solution provider, the complexities of licensing can be overwhelming and having specialist advice and software on hand will make the whole process a lot easier and is likely to yield a greater return on investment.

₁ - Referenced from Gartner paper G002630718

₂ - Referenced from Gartner paper G002630718

₃ - Referenced from Gartner paper G00249225