The Business Software Alliance (BSA), the voice of the world’s commercial
software industry, announced the launch of a new Certified in Standards-based
SAM for Organizations (CSS(O)) program in India.
CSS(O) is the first and only enterprise-level certification for Software Asset
Management (SAM) in the industry based on the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) SAM standard.
CSS(O) was developed in collaboration between BSA and Indian knowledge partners
including KPMG and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, and has been tested and proven
through a local pilot program with Symphony Services.
BSA plans to expand the program globally in 2012.
“As organizations here mature and compete globally, enterprises are
increasingly seeing a need to demonstrate strong corporate governance practices
to clients, investors, shareholders and other stakeholders. This program will
be a strong enabler towards achieving this in the area of software asset
management,” said Jodie L. Kelley, general counsel and vice president of
Anti-Piracy for the Business Software Alliance.
By testing against universally accepted benchmarks that validate SAM processes
are operationally sound and sustainable, CSS(O) lays the foundation for an
organization to stay in compliance with vendor contracts, helps manage software
acquisition and maintenance costs, enhances productivity, and improves overall
competitiveness.
“Organizations receive repeated auditing requests from software publishers in a
bid to identify any gaps in their software compliance and/or reporting,” said
Sudhir Singh Dungarpur, a partner in the Risk Consulting group of KPMG.
By getting Certified in Standards-based SAM, organizations will be able to
better align their software assets with their operational needs, maintain and
easily prove their license compliance, accrue software and network cost
efficiencies, and improve their business performance.
“CSS(O) provides organizations with an opportunity to streamline their software
asset management processes, which enables them to manage their contractual
obligations for use of software in a far more proactive manner,” said Abhay
Gupte, senior director of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.
Symphony Services, an India-based software company, is the first organization
to receive a CSS(O) after completing a comprehensive assessment of its SAM
processes and licensing positions.
The certification process helped Symphony identify the software needs of its
business units, restructure its licenses, and negotiate more advantageous
agreements with vendors, which enabled it to maximize its licenses, better
predict costs and increase IT efficiencies.
“We develop products for global companies, where software compliance is a major
supplier concern,” said Vijaya Shanker, vice president of Managed Services and
Global IT for Symphony Services.
By Telecomlead.com Team
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