FrontRange launches software asset management tool

Software asset management can help to deliver faster return on investment

FrontRange Solutions, a provider of PC lifecycle management and IT services, has launched a new online tool designed to help businesses assess their software asset management (SAM) profile.

The free SAM Analyzer tool consists of 10 questions which organisations must answer to gain insight into their approach to factors such as auditing, procurement and application deployment, according to the firm.

Sam Bramwell, UK marketing manager at Microsoft, and a member of the Software Industry Research Board, claimed that SAM projects are "perfectly suited to a recessionary climate".

"We would typically expect a SAM project to more than pay for itself within no more than 12 months, delivering a fast and substantial return on investment that the organisation can use to fund other critical projects," he said.

Matt Fisher, director of marketing at FrontRange, agreed, adding that most organisations have unused software "languishing on their network".

"Better visibility of these assets would enable firms to harvest these, and reallocate licences rather than purchasing new software," he added.

The most recent annual piracy study from the Business Software Alliance found that pirated software on PCs in the UK had risen to 27 per cent over the past year, at a cost to British industry of £1.49bn.