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

organisations 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 organisations

through the initial planning and

implementation phases, into a 'business as

usual' activity that provides ongoing

maintenance and optimisation.

Many of the organisations 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

optimisation. The result - a world class,

industry-recognised approach to achieving

and realising the benefits that SAM can

bring to an organisation.

Large or small, global or local, we have

helped thousands of organisations

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

organisations 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 organisation 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 organisation’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 organisation’s SAM

maturity as they work seamlessly towards achieving their SAM goals.

The SAM-iQ Maturity Assessment measures an organisation’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 organisation.

The SAM-iQ Gap Analysis measures an organisation’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 organisation 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 organisations 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

organisation through their SAM

planning, implementation,

maintenance and optimisation.

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 optimised.

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 Optimisation 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 organisation 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 organisation to increase maturity, mitigate risk, implement the necessary governance and optimise 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 – Optimisation

(Note: see page 6 to read more about the four phases)

For organisations 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 organisation 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.

http://www.crayon.com/