TFL Vsebine / Revija SIR*IUS

Hidden Opportunities for IT Optimization - Software Asset Management

Nekatera področja znotraj upravljanja informacijske tehnologije navadno ostanejo zakrita, saj ostaja toliko več trenutno perečih problemov. Treba je zagotavljati primerne ravni storitev, delovanje sistemov, spremljati spremembe in razvoj programske opreme, upravljati investicije, skrbeti za ljudi, zagotoviti vodstvu najnovejše informacije. Ob vseh teh nalogah je treba še zniževati stroške, optimizirati procese znotraj IT ter sodelovati pri optimizaciji poslovnih procesov. Pri vseh teh nalogah po navadi ostajajo področja, katerih se vodje IT redko lotevajo. Eno izmed njih je tudi upravljanje licenc programske opreme. Čeprav to področje neposredno vpliva na stroške IT, se ga zaradi svoje posebnosti in povezanih procesov redkeje ureja. Prav zaradi kompleksnosti licenčnih pravil in vpliva na stroške se tega področja ne lotevajo niti drugi oddelki, npr. finance in kontroling. Za primerno upravljanje licenc in primerno optimizacijo stroškov tega področja je treba urediti več področij, od upravljanja opreme, vpliva delovanja in nastavitev programske opreme, ureditev dostopov do programske opreme ... Prispevek prikazuje, kako široko je področje licenciranja programske opreme, navaja nekatere značilnosti licenc programske opreme, izčrpno prikazuje pomembnost področja in predlaga revizorjev prispevek k ureditvi področja.

Some areas in IT governance usually remain hidden, as there are much more urgent problems. It is necessary to provide appropriate levels of service and operating of systems, to worry about the change management processes and development of software solutions, to manage investments, to care for people and to provide management up-to-date information. Along with all these tasks, it is necessary to reduce the costs, to optimize the processes within the IT, and to participate in optimizing business processes. Within all these tasks, however, some areas usually remain rarely tackled by IT managers. One of such areas is the software asset management. Although this area has a direct impact on the cost of the IT because of its specificity and related processes it is rarely governed. Due to the complexity of licensing rules and its impact on costs, other departments, such as Finance and Controlling, also not often address this area. Proper management of licenses and optimization of costs in this area require proper management and governance of several areas, such as asset management, operating of software solutions, settings of software, and regulation of controls to access the software, to name just a few. The paper demonstrates the broad scope of software licensing, indicating some characteristics of software licenses and highlighting the importance of the area. It also proposes the auditor's contribution to the organization of the field.