BSA, the Software Alliance, today announced the release of its latest survey report titled, “Software Asset Management – Processes, Practices and Plans”, which highlights that non-compliance with software licenses is the biggest concern for one in three Indian CIOs, followed by overspending on software.
The survey was conducted among 300 CIOs in India. Commissioned to the business intelligence firm – International Market Assessment India (IMA India), the survey focuses on CIOs’ top concerns and views on Software Asset Management (SAM) and its state of adoption in India.
“Today software is embedded in the DNA of a company and keeps companies agile. It is imperative that CEO’s understand their software assets and leverages it effectively to drive value and productivity”, said Yolynd Lobo, India Director, BSA. “A comprehensive SAM program reduces risks, ensures compliance and drives better control of the ecosystem in the organisation”.
The survey findings underscore a mature understanding of SAM by CIOs in India. According to the survey, about 60% of organisations are neither able to judiciously use software assets, nor are they able to assess the compliance risk due to a lack of visibility into their software assets. Secondly, most organisations are subjected to compliance audits every year by software vendors and 25% of CIOs said the frequency of audit requests has been increasing over the years. About 58% of CIOs see audits as a nuisance or distraction, but believe they are well prepared for them (69%).
Further, the survery revealed that awareness of the ISO SAM certification and Verafirm-Certified is high (74%), though there is a lack of in-depth knowledge. Also, about half of the organisations have allocated budgets for SAM initiatives. However, most prefer to implement SAM themselves.
“Software forms a large part of any organisation’s IT investments. Today, the biggest impediment for CIOs to make the most of their software investments is lack of complete visibility into their software inventory”, said, Pranav Kumar, Executive Vice President & Head – CIO Forum, IMA. “The survey ascertains a high level of interest amongst CIOs around SAM. It also indicates their willingness to implement SAM tools to reduce compliance risk.”
The survey was conducted among CIOs and IT Heads of medium and large-sized organisations across manufacturing, banking and financial services, information technology, FMCG and healthcare sectors.