By Jeffrey Tefertiller

Hello, this is Jeffrey Tefertiller, I want to take just a moment to talk about Software Asset Management. Some people call it SAM, for short. Software Asset Management is growing in prominence as well as importance throughout many organizations. The function is used, and frankly needed to control risk and cost.

For example, on cost, many studies have shown that a good SAM program can save an organization up to 30% of its software spend. That is a huge, huge savings that requires investment.

What makes SAM more difficult, is that technology is everywhere in an organization. Think about how many types of software your organization has now and trying to control the usage versus the entitlements that you own. Entitlements is just a big word for what licenses do have you paid for that you can use. So, SAM is always looking to strike that balance of paying for what you use and use what you’re paying for. That’s difficult in these large organizations. And software publishers want to keep it that way.

There are audits that go on that make it difficult for software asset managers. These audits try to see if a company is over deployed in a certain publisher. The results of these audits is usually pretty interesting to me, because the software publishers, want you to overpay. Yes, that is what happens. But, they also use the results of that audit, as incentives to push you towards a certain type of products skews, if you will. And as been a trend, in the last five years is the push towards software as a service SaaS).

Let me give you an example. When Microsoft comes in, they do an audit, usually through a third party. They say you owe hundreds and 1000s of dollars. And they say well, you can pay this or will discount it if you promise and sign right here to move these workloads that you now have on premise to our cloud version. It’s real prominent with Microsoft Office moving to 365. They incentivize it through pressure and organizations must be wary that this happens. They must understand their entitlements versus their deployments.

I want to close with some numbers and statistics from Gartner that I find interesting.  Gartner has traditional on premise spend, staying pretty flat with nominal one or 2% growth throughout the year 2025. That growth is probably just growth in business not growth in that area. If you compare it to the cloud, cloud is going up 10 to 20% every year. So, think about that, that line that’s going up at almost 20 degrees on a chart. And so, when you think about this cloud spend going through the roof, it comes back to Software Asset Management, and how do we manage the software publishers and that leaks over to how we do cloud asset management. And the topic is a big one, because organizations can spend millions and millions of dollars on software.

In fact, the average employee has well over $10,000 of software spent on them every year. In some companies that’s close to 50,000, Now do the math in your company. That is a lot of money spent and that’s why investing in a good SAM program can help save.

To learn more about SAM, Click Here.

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If you were wondering, it’s true.  Project Managers can benefit directly from three of the new ITIL 4 courses.  If you are interested in benefiting from this intersection and advancing your career this article is here to help guide your path.

Background

ITIL 4 starts with Foundation and then branches into advanced 2 paths:  (1) The Managing Professional Path and (2) The Strategic Leader Path.  Both paths have courses that map to the Project Managers Mission.

#1 ITIL 4 Strategic Leader

The course with the highest level of intersection, where Project Management is “testable” is found in the Strategic Leader Path.  The course, Digital & IT Strategy (DITS), is the Strategic Leader capstone course.  It is designed for Managers and requires a minimum of 3 years management experience.

• DITS focuses on the importance and challenges of creating an appropriate digital strategy to enable success across departments and organizations.
• It also looks at how the digital business strategy can (and should) be integrated into the IT strategy and aligned with the wider organization’s goals.
• Students apply the concepts via 4 graded assignments which are required in order to take the certification exam.

How to Become an ITIL 4 Strategic Leader

In order to achieve the Digital & IT Strategy Certification (DITS), candidates need to have achieved the ITIL 4 Foundation and ITIL 4 Direct, Plan & Improve Certifications and have a minimum of 3-year management experience.  Prerequisite classes include:  ITIL 4 Foundation and ITIL 4 Direct, Plan and Improve (DPI).

#2 ITIL 4 Managing Professional

The other two courses are found in the ITIL 4 Managing Professional Track.  This track consists of 4 courses of which 2 of them are highly recommended for Project Managers:

• Direct, Plan & Improve (DPI) – This class as it focuses on the governance and strategy requirements necessary to deliver improved/new/changed services, etc. It’s one that is most like some of the context of Project Management.
• Drive Stakeholder Value (DSV) – This class discusses the stages of the customer journey and how to manage each stage.

What’s Left?

The other two courses in the Managing Professional track include Create, Deliver & Support (CDS) and High Velocity IT (HVIT).  These classes are more IT specific and look at how to manage service design and support, and how to exploit the various disruptive technologies.  The intersection is not as strong for Project Managers, but just in case you are interested, here are the details:

• Create, Deliver & Support (CDS) – This course talks about the creation of services using the service value chain and operational support.
• High Velocity IT (HVIT) – This course is the most technical (digital technology), and focuses on the five objectives of HVIT (valuable investments, fast development, resilient operations, co-creating value, and assured conformance) and the methods to fulfill these objectives.

If you have any questions or we can help in any way – Contact US or Call US at 877.546.4446

I was talking to my good friend Corde Wager (ITIL 4 Managing Professional and all around good guy) today about how to explain the significance of the ITIL 4 Strategic Leader Program and he said:

“ITIL V3 showed us how to manage processes.   With the growth of digital technology throughout the corporation and the advent of ITIL 4, organizations have to grow beyond processes and learn how to create successful digital direction for the entire organization and their customer base.  To do this IT Leaders need to learn how to create and integrate a digital strategy.   In addition, key managers and executives throughout the corporation need to be a part of this process.  Technology is everywhere and this is just the beginning.  Without an organizationally created and endorsed digital strategy, organizations will not see the future or be prepared for opportunities it offers.”

After I spoke to Corde, I received my weekly newsletter from Ian Sachs of Rick Resource that gives us the icing on the cake so to speak on the importance of becoming an ITIL 4 Strategic Leader.  Make sure you don’t get left behind.  I couldn’t have said it better (see below).  Thank you Ian Sachs of Risk Resource.

Food for Thought: Projecting the Future

Many of the world’s most influential businesspeople and industry leaders failed to fully appreciate the capabilities of their own work while underestimating or misinterpreting the future. There is no better way to point this out than to consider some of the past century’s most prominent examples.

• 1893 – Postmaster General John Wanamaker stated that the U.S. mail would be delivered by stagecoach and horseback, even 100 years in the future.

• 1899 – Charles H. Duell, commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents, said, “Everything that can be invented has been invented.”

• 1903 – The New York Times declared that flying machines were a waste of time just a week before the Wright brothers successfully flew their airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

• 1927 – Harry M. Warner, one of the founders of Warner Brothers, remarked during the era of silent movies, “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?”

• 1943 – Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, said “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”

• 2000 – John Antioco, CEO of Blockbuster, overlooked the capabilities of internet “streaming” and turned down an offer to buy Netflix for $50M. Blockbuster, the company that pioneered movie rentals, filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

As our society continues to course through exponential growth in technology, innovation, living standards, and of course, a pandemic, it’s important to remain prudent and to think through all possible outcomes and scenarios before turning down opportunities or accepting new ones. Leave your ego and stubbornness at the door and make room for more thoughts and opinions. Don’t be too quick to stick with comfortable decisions. History rewards those who were bold – the gamblers that bet on the future and not against it.

Don’t get left behind.  To Learn More about the GogoTraining ITIL 4 Strategic Leader Program, Click Here.

To ready the full article by Ian Sachs, Click here  

The ITIL 4 Strategic Leader Designation is an exciting Senior, Leader-Level, Certification.  It is designed for professionals across all organizations who are involved in crafting digital vision and shaping IT and business strategy.  When you achieve the Strategic Leader designation you will be a part of an exclusive group of professionals who hold the most valued ITIL 4 Leadership Certification.

Strategic Leader Requirements

The ITIL 4 Strategic Leader Certification is a true Leader-Level Certification.  In order to achieve the Strategic Leader Certification candidates must:

1. Have 3 or more years of Management Experience
2. Have the required course prerequisites described below
3. Receive a passing mark on the 4 Digital and IT Strategy Course Assignments
4. Complete the Accredited Digital and IT Strategy Course.
5. Take and pass the ITIL 4 Leader:  Digital and IT Strategy Exam given by PeopleCert

Strategic Leader Courses

This program consists of 2 courses:

• ITIL 4 Strategist:  Direct, Plan and Improve (DPI):  Providing practical and strategic methods for delivering Continual Service Improvement.
• ITIL 4 Leader:  Digital & IT Strategy (DITS): Creating digital strategy that enables success across departments and organizations.

Strategic Leader Pathways

There are 3 ways to qualify to take the Digital & IT Strategy course which is required to become an ITIL 4 Strategic Leader.

1. Shortest Way – 1 Course Required

Everyone who holds the ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition Certification or who holds the ITIL Strategist Direct, Plan and Control Certification, may go straight to the Strategic Leader Course.

If this is you, then Click Here to take advantage of a Very Special LIFETIME Access Offer – Valid September 2020. 

2. Next Shortest – 2 Courses Required

If you hold the ITIL 4 Foundation Certification you qualify to take the Direct, Plan and Improve course followed by the ITIL 4 Leader, Digital and IT Strategy.

If this is you, then Click Here to take advantage of a Very Special LIFETIME Access Offer – Valid September 2020.

3. Need It All – 3 Courses Required

If you hold the ITIL V3 Foundation Certificate or are NEW to ITIL, then you need to start with the ITIL 4 Foundation Course followed by DPI and DITS.

If this is you, then Click Here to take advantage of a Very Special LIFETIME Access Offer – Valid September 2020.

Need Help?

Click Here and share your ITIL training and certification experience with us and we will get back to you within 48 hours with a custom training plan.  For everything else, contact us by email at customerservice@gogotraining.com or by phone at 877.546.4446.  We are standing by to help.