As part of this month’s SAMPanel debate, SAMChannel asked Libby Phillipps, Marketing and Events Co-ordinator of License Dashboard, ‘How can the Talent Shortage in the SAM Sector be Addressed?’

Below was her response…

IT Asset Management is a niche, which really makes SAM a sub-niche. It seems now that more organizations are becoming aware of the implications of a software audit – or the implications of a failed software audit – and so are taking steps to invest in SAM rather than risk the cost associated with non-compliance. Instead of stretching internal resources, organizations seek specialist professionals for SAM as they understand that an IT Professional is not the same as a SAM Manager.

In a nutshell, we’re seeing an increase in demand for data management skills over technical skills – SAM data management and interpretation is crucial in software license management decision making.

Despite this increase in awareness, organizations fall-short in fully understanding the role of a SAM Manager. License Dashboard conducted research to find that 60% of SAM Managers spend their time working on license reconciliation and inventory – processes that can be automated with a SAM service. This can mean SAM Managers are placed in an administrative role, meaning they’re often undervalued and the salary advertised alongside the job description makes it difficult to attract the right talent to fill a SAM position.

Even if an organization successfully appoints a dedicated SAM Manager, there must be a level of investment made in ensuring adequate equipment, asset management and training are offered so the SAM role can be carried out to its full potential. SAM is so much more than just compliance, and keeping abreast of an organization’s entire software environment is a data intensive, skilled role.

The talent shortage we are seeing within the SAM sector can be addressed in two ways. The first is to hone-in on the licensing training offered to SAM Professionals. There are no training courses that cover all manufacturers (that would be nearly impossible) but many vendors don’t have study aids or specialist licensing trainers to keep customers up to date. As the industry and software licensing grows and becomes more and more complex, SAM Managers struggle to stay on top of the changes without a prompt from the vendor (usually in the form of a software audit). General SAM training can help assist SAM Managers, which is provided by ISO Standard and IAITAM, but SAM resources and training must be up-to-date in order to be effective, and any qualifications obtained may look impressive on a CV, but are useless if they can’t be applied to day-to-day tasks.

The second way to tackle the SAM talent shortage is to educate organizations in what it means to be a SAM Manager. HR can then effectively advertise and recruit for the skills they require, keeping in mind that while a SAM professional will hold expertise in inventory management, software licensing and SAM tools, they will also be familiar with the organization’s industry, have a deep knowledge of the organization’s business goals and have experience with budget management. They will be a strong communicator in order to negotiate the acquisition of new assets and they must have good working knowledge of the legal system to understand the ramifications of non-compliance to an organization. This is certainly not an “unskilled administrative role” and, as any expert would, SAM Managers are expecting a large salary.

About the Author

Libby Phillipps | Marketing and Events Co-ordinator with License Dashboard | Connect with Libby

Always looking to make the working lives of her clients that little bit easier, Libby Phillipps is dedicated to helping IT, Finance, Procurement and SAM professionals deliver savings to their organization with License Dashboard. She is also crazy about her pooch Kes and have a love hate relationship with aerobics and running…

About License Dashboard

A global leader in Software Asset Management, License Dashboard combine unrivalled software licensing expertise with professionally-developed software solutions designed to help both large and fast-growing organizations manage their software expenditure, minimize costs, optimize utilization and streamline the entire software lifecycle.