SAManage IT Management Blog

Over the last decade, many companies have sought to improve IT service management efficiency by embracing the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework – and the numbers are steadily rising.  Early adopters of ITIL, which is the world’s most widely accepted IT service management methodology, include such notable organizations as Proctor & Gamble and IBM.

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According to Wikipedia, ITIL is “a set of concepts and practices for managing information technology (IT) services, IT development, and IT operations”.  Trademarked by the UK’s Office of Government Commerce, it originated in 1989 – in part, due to companies’ ever-growing dependence on their IT infrastructures – as a catalog of books, each providing consistent, proven, documented best practices that highlight a specific aspect of IT operations.  Many believe that the concepts and practices covered within these books are loosely based on a set of processes for controlling and managing IT operations.

The various components and elements of ITIL include:

• Service Support. Request management, incident management, problem management, and other processes are aimed at ensuring that end users have the appropriate technologies and services to perform their jobs.
• Service Delivery. Service level management, capacity management, IT service continuity and availability management, and other activities help IT departments proactively provide needed services to end users.
• Service Management Implementation, which defines processes for developing a vision, analyzing the organization, defining objectives, and deploying related services.
• Security Management, which is designed to keep all applications, information, and systems fully protected.
• Infrastructure Management. This discipline directly relates to the management of software and hardware made available to end users, and includes design and planning, deployment, operations, and technical support.
• Business Perspective, a collection of best practices for enhancing IT service provision.
• Application Management, procedures and policies aimed at improving software development efforts across the entire lifecycle.
• Software Asset Management. Practices such as software license compliance, inventory tracking, and software definition, configuration, use, and retirement help minimize the cost and risk associated with the acquisition, utilization, and maintenance of software assets.

Today, ITIL encompasses not only the advice provided by the published volumes (which grew to more than 30 before being consolidated and re-organized into eight logical sets in 2001), it offers a supporting professional qualification scheme.

Companies can adopt ITIL in a variety of ways.  They can follow its policies exactly as specified.  Or, because the descriptions, checklists, tasks, and procedures offered by ITIL are flexible, many businesses choose to incorporate only those aspects that are most applicable to their specific business needs, or opt to tailor or modify various practices to address unique requirements.

Those companies that have embraced ITIL have reported significant benefits, including:

• Minimized IT expenses and better control over IT budgets
• Improved IT service delivery and better alignment of IT with the business needs
• Enhanced end user satisfaction
• Better adherence to IT standards and guidelines
• Increased productivity and resource allocation

The most recent version of ITIL, version three which was released in 2007, focuses on four key areas – strategy, design, transition, and operation. Visit our Web site to learn more about ITIL, and how SaaS IT management systems from SAManage can help enable the successful implementation of this important IT service management technique.

Online IT Asset & Service Management Software

Discover how on-demand IT Asset & Service management software from SAManage can help you gain instant visibility into your assets and improve your service levels. Sign up for a free trial of SAManage.

No matter what size your company may be, your technology assets play a crucial role in facilitating the kind of productivity and agility you need to sustain a competitive advantage.  That’s why even the smallest businesses can benefit from powerful, innovative cloud-based IT management services.  These robust applications can help organizations of all types and sizes to realize the full potential of the significant investment they’ve made in their technology solutions.

Like most other small business software systems, the cost and resources required to purchase and support many of the IT management software products has historically been prohibitive.  As a results, smaller firms have been unable to streamline and automate related processes.

All that has changed with cloud computing.  The cloud computing model, also known as hosted, on-demand, or software-as-a-service (SaaS), has eliminated many of the barriers to small business software, such as high price tags, long and expensive implementations, and extensive ongoing maintenance that drains staff resources.  Smaller organizations can now subscribe to (or rent) software systems – which have already been installed, tested, and provisioned at a third-party provider’s site – for an affordable monthly fee, which includes all upgrades, enhancements, and repairs. This provides them with access to the same kinds of technology solutions that their larger competitors are leveraging – without busting their budgets.

Think about it like this: Cloud computing is transforming enterprise software into a commodity. What gmail did to email (why would you run an email server anyway?) and Salesforce.com did to CRM, is now happening with many other areas of enterprise software, and small businesses can take advantage of it today.

The same holds true for cloud-based IT Management solutions.  For many years, mid-sized and larger enterprises have relied on these tools to achieve significant advantages, including:

• Increased control over and visibility into even the most complex IT architectures
• Better tracking of PCs, servers, and other components throughout their lifecycle – from acquisition through obsolescence
• Minimized risk through faster, better detection of network security threats like viruses and spyware
• Enhanced software license compliance through more precise contract management
• Improved efficiency and cost-effectiveness of key IT management processes

Why is on-demand, or cloud computing, so valuable to smaller companies?  Because for the first time, it empowers them to leverage the same types of IT management solutions, as well as other small business software applications, so they can realize the same substantial benefits. Visit our Web site to learn more about cloud-based IT management systems from SAManage, and how they can help small businesses increase control over their technology infrastructures, and maximize return on their IT investments.

Cloud-based IT Management Software

Discover how Cloud-based IT Management software can help you gain instant visibility into your assets and know exactly what you have.
Sign up for a free trial of SAManage IT Management service.

While technology solutions delivered via a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model are beneficial to companies of all sizes, it is the small to mid sized businesses (SMBs) who are likely to derive the greatest advantages.  The SaaS approach provides companies in the mid-market with an affordable way to leverage the same kind of powerful enterprise software solutions that larger companies use for many years, and at a fraction of the cost.

Yankee Group claims that the SaaS strategy is growing in popularity among SMBs, and will continue to do so, as more and more of them choose on-demand enterprise software tools. In fact, the analyst firm’s research shows that 60 percent of small and mid-sized organizations believe that enterprise software delivered via SaaS can help them reduce expenses and increase efficiency.

Why does on-demand make it easier for SMBs to acquire enterprise software?

• No need to buy or install expensive infrastructure – all the hardware and software required to operate the enterprise software tool is already up and running at the service provider’s site.
• No upfront investment – use of the enterprise software application is rented so costs spread over affordable installments.
• Minimal burden on IT staff – since subscription fees include upgrades and ongoing administration, smaller firms don’t need to devote their already limited technical resources to maintaining the enterprise software package.
• Reduce technology risk – SaaS delivered solutions helps reduce the risk of deploying a new technology, and helps eliminate shelfware, a term used to describe software that was purchased but never put to use.
• Eliminate the upgrade cycle – traditional software vendors want you to upgrade to the newer release of their products (guess why?), which means you have to test the new version, verify its working properly in your infrastructure, and roll it across your company, somethings with very little value to the organization. With SaaS, there are no more upgrades. When new functionality becomes available, you simply configure it and put it to use. Don’t need that functionality – no problem. This approach lets you maximize the value of technology to your company.

The SaaS approach has made all types of solutions more accessible to SMBs, including enterprise IT management software.  With enterprise IT management software, companies can streamline and automate the logging, tracking, and administration of all technology assets owned and used by the company.

For years, larger companies have been reaping the benefits of enterprise IT management software, using it to boost the performance and value of their critical technology systems and infrastructure and optimize their IT investments.  Now with SaaS, smaller and mid-sized companies can easily implement IT asset management processes, facilitating better service level with integrated help desk software and much more.

Visit our web site to learn more about the benefits that SaaS offers to SMBs, and how our powerful on-demand enterprise IT management software can help smaller companies to enhance the value of their technology assets throughout their entire lifecycle.

SaaS vs. Legacy IT Management tools

This paper discuss how SaaS IT Management tools provides more value and deliver better ROI and TCO when compared with legacy on-premise software. Download our SaaS vs. Legacy IT Management tools white paper.

In today’s tough economy, companies of all types and sizes are tightening their belts.  As a result, IT budgets are shrinking – fast!  But, with fewer dollars to spend on technology, businesses must make wiser purchasing decisions, choosing those tools that will deliver the greatest value in the shortest time frame.  That’s why IT asset management should be at the top of your technology “wish list”.

If you want the fastest, highest return on a technology investment, then IT asset management is the way to go.  Unlike some other IT management applications, which have advantages that are hard to quantify, the benefits of IT asset management are tangible and measurable.  These include:

1. Better asset utilization by know what assets you have and how these assets are used.
2. Enhanced infrastructure performance through improved tracking of enhancements, upgrades, and repairs and service.
3. Reduced risk of fines due to software non-compliance through more effective software asset management.
4. Improved control over your network and changes to your assets and faster, more precise IT audits.
5. Optimized employee productivity through better detection and elimination of unauthorized software like games.

But, perhaps most importantly, unlike other tools that take a while to demonstrate their worth, the advantages of comprehensive hardware and software asset management with an IT asset management system can be realized almost immediately.  In fact, according to Pepperweed Consulting, the vast majority of organizations who implement IT asset management experience full ROI within the first year, as well as ongoing savings throughout the life of the solution.

And, those benefits are further magnified when you choose a hosted IT asset management system.  Without the high cost of maintenance and the high upfront expenditures typically associated with legacy, on-premise IT asset management solutions, SaaS IT management tools provides the potential for:

• Reduce deployment risk and shorter time to value
• Dramatically reduced total cost of ownership
• Accelerated return on investment
• Minimized burden on IT resources, since there is no hardware to install or maintain

Visit our web site to learn more about why SaaS IT asset management should be a top priority for your organization, and why solutions from SAManage are the ideal choice for all your IT management needs.

The Business Case for IT Asset Management

This paper outlines the steps needed to create a compelling business case for an IT Asset Management solution.

Download our building the business case for IT Asset Management white paper.

Nowadays, every organization’s network is susceptible to a wide variety of threats. For example, there is the IT compliance exposure that stems from the proliferation of illegal or unlicensed software applications across a business. And then there are the IT risks associated with security breaches, viruses, and other related hacker-initiated activities.

When hazards like these present themselves, the results can be disastrous. So, more and more companies are relying on IT asset management solutions to keep their networks protected.

The ability to proactively avoid these, and other network threats is crucial to both business performance, and the preservation of financial integrity. For example, the fines that software vendors impose for failure to ensure IT compliance can be staggering. And, the loss of information and decreased productivity caused by the existence of spyware, malware, unauthorized applications, viruses, and other IT risks often translate directly into lower revenues and declining profits.

Additionally, renowned analyst firm Gartner believes that, because IT has become increasingly central to business processes, and the smooth functioning of IT networks is vital to company performance, IT risk management should be viewed as a mission-critical business initiative, not just an IT effort.

IT asset management service from SAManage provide a highly effective way to instantly detect potential IT risks. With the right technologies in place, they can be corrected, or even avoided, before they create major problems for your business. Solutions from SAManage make it easy for you to proactively detect risks to your computers and other assets by providing you with complete visibility into all components within your architecture. You can see what assets you have, where they reside, who is using them, how they are configured, and more – in real-time. So you can identify IT risks the moment they emerge, and implement the needed steps to protect yourself against them.

Learn more about IT asset management systems from SAManage, and how they can help you ensure software license compliance and prevent risks to your network.