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Sarbanes Oxley : Technology : Acquisition Cost
10 Costs Saving Tips to Help Global Organizations Save on Software
Sarbanes-Oxley is one example of regulations that impact the IT department.
By
Scott Fenton
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Scott Fenton
VP & CIO Peregrine Systems
Peregrine Systems
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Software license management has become a critical issue for many IT organizations in light of rising software costs and increased compliance pressure from software vendors and industry watchdogs, as well as recent government regulations, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) and the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Faced with the daunting task of managing tens of thousands of software licenses, IT managers must implement effective solutions that will help gain visibility into implementations, reduce costs, improve management to mitigate risk from
potential compliance audits.
"Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) is one example of regulations that impact the IT department," said Scott Fenton, Peregrine Systems, Inc.'s CIO. "The Peregrine Asset Tracking and Expense Control solutions provide the essential technologies and best practices for a reliable, effective IT asset management practice. These solutions help businesses comply with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulatory requirements. With Peregrine's asset management solutions, large organizations have the ability to track, discover and manage all enterprise IT assets."
With more than two decades of technology innovations and industry
best-practice experience, Peregrine recommends the following 10 tips for
effective software license management.
1. Evaluate your current situation by asking the following questions:
• Are we prepared to respond to a software audit?
• What processes do we have in place to determine our risk exposure?
• What is our policy around the distribution of software?
• How do we determine who is entitled to what software?
• If someone installs software, how do we keep track of it?
• What processes do we have in place to harvest licenses from disposed hardware?
2. Create a clear policy and processes with business users about software purchase, use and distribution, and ensure that it's required reading for all employees. The Business Software Alliance has a good sample policy on its Web site (www.bsa.org).
3. Establish an anonymous way for employees to report activity that they believe might be outside of the corporate compliance policy.
4. Be aware of the potential types of software license compliance audits your company may face (e.g. internal audit, regularly scheduled audit generated by a compliance initiative, internal auditor request, third-party audit, specific software vendor-initiated audits).
5. Standardize software license procurement and management via an IT asset management solution. For example, the Peregrine Expense Control solution is designed to provide a comprehensive end-to-end view of all IT assets, including software licenses and their related financial information, such as contracts and warranties.
6. Avoid over-procurement and reduce costs by studying usage patterns within your global enterprise to determine current and future needs.
7. Keep track of all software licenses and entitlements in a centralized repository. Use best-of-breed asset tracking software, such as the Peregrine Asset Tracking solution, to automate asset discovery and maintain a real-time database of all your IT assets from procurement to retirement.
8. At least once a year, inventory the software your business has licensed and confirm that users are entitled to those licenses.
9. Establish and implement a software distribution strategy using best-of-breed software distribution solutions.
10. Continually assess the corporate or regulatory compliance needs impacting your organization, such as SOX and HIPAA, and strategically adapt IT priorities as your organizations' needs evolve.
For more information on software license management go to www.peregrine.com.
Scott Fenton
VP & CIO Peregrine Systems
Peregrine Systems
Scott Fenton is vice president and CIO of Peregrine Systems, Inc., a provider of asset and service management solutions based in San Diego, Calif.
He has more than 20 years of technical and operational management experience in the high-technology and electronics industry.
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