SAM Guidance & Monitoring
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Service Description
Our SAM Guidance & Monitoring program is a subscription-based service to provide regular and ongoing software analysis to minimize software expenses and improve overall software utilization.
ISAM creates an initial software benchmark report based on your current IBM and ISV mainframe software costs. From this baseline, clients receive specific recommendations for SAM improvement with the underlying goal of achieving “best in class” status. Throughout the year, and as frequently as you have changes to your environment, our program helps you understand the financial implications of those changes and improves your decision-making process.
Service Options
- Vendor Benchmarks
- Vendor Negotiation Strategy
- IBM Software Pricing Audit
- IBM Software Pricing Analysis
- SAS Software Usage Analysis
- Upgrade “what if” Analysis
- Data Center Benchmark
- Competitive Replacement Strategy
- PILS Data Center Product Usage Analysis
- Data Center Optimization
- Ongoing SAM Support
Key Benefits
- Ongoing Software Asset Management support for SAM teams.
- Initial baseline report from which cost reductions may be implemented.
- Monthly payment based on client requested service levels.
- Ongoing software benchmarks.
- Provides a roadmap to short-term and long-term savings strategies.
- Pricing guidance through hardware or software configuration changes.
- Software vendor negotiation support.
- ISAM maintains a knowledge base of the client’s software assets.
- Access to knowledgeable consultants and our Software Intelligence Database.
Collecting Your Data for Analysis
We begin by helping you collect software pricing data and load it into our Software Intelligence Database. This includes IBM software data as well as ISV software data. Specific company information is kept in the strictest confidence. ISAM’s Software Intelligence Database has software pricing data from data centers of various sizes (total MIPS) and representing all industries. Our database is the largest and most comprehensive in the software asset management industry and we have developed multiple applications to help clients reduce expenses and manage software assets.
Our Process
- We begin with a baseline of the client’s software infrastructure and costs.
- We measure changes to the environment as they occur.
- We propose a variety of cost-saving scenarios based upon those changes.
- Scenarios include pricing options based on over 125,000 published prices.
- Product lists are reviewed for functional redundancy.
Service Deliverables
- Immediate savings from the software benchmark and pricing analysis.
- Long-term savings strategies.
- Ongoing guidance through hardware or software configuration changes.
- Ongoing software vendor negotiation support.
- Ongoing contract negotiation assistance.
- Tools to raise the company to “Best in Class” status for software pricing.
The SAM Guidance & Monitoring program is a roadmap to short and long-term savings in the client’s mainframe software portfolio.
Project Timeline
Once the data is received, it generally takes about two weeks (less if requested), to produce the initial software benchmark assessment.
As a subscription service, our minimum term for an agreement is 12 months.
Our Experts
The ISAM team is made up of professionals with success in software asset management. Our team members have financial expertise, software pricing expertise, database expertise, data center management expertise and they all provide excellent customer service.