SAM message moves away from fear onto savings and returns
The managing director of FAST Ltd has described the current approach to selling software compliance as one where enforcement has largely disappeared.
Matthew Barnes, who has been promoted to the top role at FAST Ltd, after an eighth month spell as operations director, has told MicroScope of his vision for the business throughout the rest of this year.
Barnes expects consolidation in the market place as the public sector cuts filter through and are bedded down and customers continue to focus on recovery.
But he added that software compliance and SAM were being pitched as steps and tools that companies could take to cut and control costs.
"Return on investment is very much the message we are trying to get over. The days of the stick being used with an enforcement message have long gone," he said.
His views echo others operating at the front line selling SAM who have found that helping customers get on top of their software estate is useful in a time of recession.
Neil Murphy, managing director at Bytes Software Services, said that resellers had to demonstrate with SAM that money could be saved through cutting out duplication and phasing out applications that are no longer being used but there was also a benefit in shining a light on the inner workings of a firm.
"Software business decisions are not just about compliance it's also about better procurement. How can you go and buy new software if you don't know what you have?" he asked.
