What’s The Value Of An Independent SAM Managed Service provider?

in·de·pend·ent : free from outside control; not subject to another’s authority; capable of thinking or acting for oneself; self-governing, autonomous, free.

With independence, comes responsibility. And this is true in the world of SAM too.

Leveraging a truly independent SAM managed service means that the outcomes driving the service will be 100% aligned with yours, as the customer. So what do you want the partnership focus to be?

 When we say ‘independent’ managed service we mean someone who focuses on:

1) Mitigating risk, optimizing IT spend and ensuring the best commercial and contractual outcomes with software and tool vendors

2) Enabling the implementation of repeatable lifecycle management processes across your entire IT estate.

3) They are NOT incentivized through the sale of software or tooling

To deliver these outcomes effectively, your managed service provider must have:

1) expertise around all vendor licensing

2) up to date knowledge of available technology

3) work with ISO standard ITAM Governance to combine this knowledge and best practice to ensure they are able to deliver world-class managed services

Let’s take a closer look at these three crucial areas.

Expertise in vendor licensing

Vendor expertise is gleaned from combined years of experience in working with all of the software publishers from both sides of the negotiation table. Often the best license experts will be the very person that built the agreement you signed for your software renewal. This means that they have a clear understanding of, not only what the vendor is prepared to discount or which terms can be flexed but, what they are actually able to give on. The poacher come game-keeper scenario! Their drivers will align with yours, ensuring your contract is signed for the best and final offer (BAFO).

In many cases the experience will come from working with the auditor, usually one of the ‘Big Four’. The insights here offer an insider’s view of both what auditors are looking for and exactly how they gather all of the data they need. This experience will ensure that you are only providing the auditor with what they need and nothing more. In effect, you will have the upper hand and remain in control of all your vendor audits.

Knowledge of available technology

There are a multitude of ITSM, SAM, deployment and discovery tools on the market and each one offers different functionalities. The tech industry is developing at an exponential rate meaning these tools are now smarter, faster and more accurate than ever before. To keep abreast of the way the tools are expanding and improving requires time spent working closely with each and every one – both in implementing and managing the tool technically and operationally.

Your managed service provider should be independent and unbiased to ensure that when they are advising you on the best tool for your business requirements, they are doing it from a position based on fact and experience, and recommending the most pertinent technology for your needs.

Work with ISO standard ITAM governance

As we navigate this rapid change in the technology industry, IT is now an integral part of every business. Learning to manage technology well to ensure a robust infrastructure is in place and used effectively requires defined processes, policies and procedures that include all areas and functions within an organization, from buying a laptop through to implementing an ERP system.

The ISO/IEC 19770-1 certification was born from this requirement and specifies the requirements for the establishment, implementation, maintenance and improvement of a management system for ITAM. When implemented by organizations this delivers immediate results – reducing risk, optimizing spend and enabling control. Working with a managed service provider that is aligned to this ISO standard will mean that you are implementing industry recognized best practices.

According to Gartner’s 2022 Critical Capabilities report, “Through 2025, organizations will save more money using proactive SAM than negotiating lower prices with software and cloud providers.”

These are three key areas that Anglepoint values extremely highly because we understand the importance of them to our customers. Luckily, our global team shares these skills and experiences: