Why SAM-iQ? 2
SAM-iQ Specification 3
SAM-iQ Online Tools 4
The Four Distinct Phases 6
SAM-iQ Portal 7
SAM-iQ Assessments 8
The SAM Maturity Assessment 8
The Gap Analysis 10
The Program Tracker 11
Resource Manager 12
Main Dashboard 13
Joint Goals – Joint Success 14
Crayon has assisted thousands of
organizations globally in delivering SAM
services and we understand the challenges
that internal IT teams face when trying
to implement and maintain a set of ongoing
SAM processes.
The SAM-iQ Program guides organizations
through the initial planning and
implementation phases, into a 'business as
usual' activity that provides ongoing
maintenance and optimization.
Many of the organizations we work with
have common business goals and objectives
that the SAM-iQ Program directly addresses,
such as:
Benchmarking their current SAM
maturity levels.
Implementing better governance
through policies and processes.
Gaining visibility of their current
software usage.
Effectively managing their licenses.
Understanding their current software
requirements and planning for future
software needs.
Understanding the impact of technology
deployment as it transitions from
physical to virtual, or from on premise to
hosted or Cloud.
Mitigating risk of vendor audit and
unexpected/unbudgeted cost.
Driving cost savings.
The SAM-iQ Specification was developed by
our team of industry experts, who
conducted market research within our
customer base to identify the key challenges
they face in relation to SAM and IT
optimization. The result - a world class,
industry-recognized approach to achieving
and realizing the benefits that SAM can
bring to an organization.
Large or small, global or local, we have
helped thousands of organizations
worldwide to develop their SAM knowledge
and maturity and this approach has
undoubtedly enabled many of them to
achieve strategic business goals and
objectives.
The SAM-iQ Specification encapsulates
many years of industry experience and
knowledge gained by its authors and
collaborators, through working closely with
organizations seeking to manage their
hardware and software assets effectively.
The SAM-iQ Specification covers the
following key areas:
Proposing management objectives for
SAM.
Overseeing the development of the SAM
plan.
Ensuring all parts of the organization are
covered by the overall SAM program
owner or/and local SAM program owners.
Acquiring and training the resources for
implementing the approved SAM plan.
Delivering results against the SAM plan.
Ensuring that all SAM stakeholders fulfil
their responsibilities.
Adopting and implementing necessary
controls and the automation of processes.
Maintaining accurate records of software
and related hardware assets.
Financial management and budgeting
process.
Identifying the need for and
implementing improvements.
The SAM-iQ Portal provides access to an organization's SAM status and gives a dynamic
view of the improved levels of maturity as they progress through the program. SAM-iQ
Program customers also receive access to a host of essential online tools, templates and
guidance documents that assist all of the SAM stakeholders in achieving their SAM
objectives.
The SAM-iQ Dynamic Dashboard updates the improvements on an organization's SAM
maturity as they work seamlessly towards achieving their SAM goals.
The SAM-iQ Maturity Assessment measures an organization's current SAM status and
presents a detailed plan of action for improving levels of maturity. The results of the Maturity
Assessment will identify the risks and the rewards in the form of a detailed report. This report will form the basis of the SAM plan for the organization.
The SAM-iQ Gap Analysis measures an organization's current state against the SAM-iQ
Program specification and maps out a series of tasks that will need implementing to meet
the specification. The Gap Analysis conducted by a SAM-iQ specialist, involves all
stakeholders across the organization scope and will produce results, that when presented to the relevant personnel, will enable the allocation of responsibility and ownership.
The SAM-iQ Program Tracker enables organizations to
track their progress throughout each phase and measure
it against their overall objectives and KPIs. The Program
Tracker monitors the SAM teams’ progress as they move
towards completion of each predefined set of objectives
and tasks.
The SAM-iQ Resource Manager
provides access to around 30 SAM
guidance documents, templates
and training videos available to
download and use to support an
organization through their SAM
planning, implementation,
maintenance and optimization.
The Planning Phase is primarily concerned with setting the
correct environment for SAM and involves assessing and
managing the current maturity levels and risk, whilst also
defining the ownership, the scope, the roles and
responsibilities and the approval of the overall management
objectives.
The Implementation Phase focuses on ensuring the SAM
plan and all of the necessary tools and processes of the
SAM-iQ framework are in place and are ready to be
maintained and optimized.
The Maintenance Phase focuses on maintaining the
implemented SAM system and ensures that regular reviews
are in place to validate that the program is delivering the
expected outcomes, paving the way for the process of
continuous improvement.
The Optimization Phase continues with the improvement
of the SAM processes, driving operational efficiencies and
tangible benefits such as:
Calculating cost savings through renegotiated contracts and agreements.Cost avoidance by re-harvesting and redeployment of existing licenses.Improved efficiencies by gaining a better understanding of current hardware and software assets.Accuracy of budgeted software spend against actual software spend.Efficiency of producing accurate compliance reports to satisfy external and internal audit requirements.
The portal provides a window through which you can see your maturity levels, compare your current state to your previous state, track your progress, download the resources to help you manage your program tasks and measure the KPIs allocated to the SAM team.
Self perception
Software policies and processes
SAM system and tools
Controlling software assets
License handling
Purchase and logistics
Compliance
Crayon will recommend a set of improvements to the current state and present the results of the analysis and the recommendations in a detailed report, in order to:
Show how an organization compares to the average scores generated from assessments from over a hundred other businesses.
Define short term immediate actions that provide quick wins.
Design a longer term SAM strategy to enable an organization to increase maturity, mitigate risk, implement the necessary governance and optimize the IT estate resulting in reduced costs.
This is specifically for SAM-iQ customers looking to understand their current position and plan the most optimum way to progress through the various phases of the program.
The program is split into four distinct phases:
Phase 1 – Planning Phase
Phase 2 – Implementation Phase
Phase 3 – Maintenance
Phase 4 – Optimization
(Note: see page 6 to read more about the four phases)
For organizations who want to certify against the program specification, there are also 5 certification stages, each with a specific assessment criteria.
Bronze certification stage
Silver certification stage
Gold Stage 1 certification
Gold certification stage
Platinum certification stage
Your SAM Consultant or Program Specialist can support and guide through the certification process if required.
The status of the tasks allocated to your designated users are updated and displayed in the dashboard, enabling the SAM Managers to follow their progress and measure performance against a set of defined KPIs. The Program Tracker also maps to the Gap Analysis tool, providing clear guidance on how to close any identified gaps.
The documents and videos available to download will provide assistance and guidance as an organization embarks on its SAM journey.
Crayon will periodically add resources to this area to provide either new content or simply updates to the existing content.
The downloadable content will include templates and guidance documents covering areas such
as SAM policies, SAM lifecycle processes, SAM governance, how to conduct a SAM baseline,
guidance on how to plan for Cloud migration, plus many more.
The documents are available in either Word, PDF or Visio format.
SAM owners/managers and other relevant stakeholders will be able to view their progress at any time and therefore will always be prepared to provide status updates and reports to line managers or senior sponsors.
Crayon takes care of the hazards and makes the complicated simple, allowing our customers to focus on their business, instead of worrying about their technology.
Make your way, the Crayon way.