IT asset management (ITAM) is proving critical for cost control, as highlighted by an ITAM Forum survey with Java vendor Azul.
One in four organisations surveyed spend more than $500,000 annually resolving software license non-compliance, the survey revealed.
Accordingly, Azul CEO Scott Sellers said software management was costing too much.
“The increasing complexity of vendor licensing and pricing has turned routine upkeep into recurring six-figure compliance exercises,” Sellers said.
“When 73% of enterprises have been audited and one in four now spends more than $500,000 a year cleaning up license issues, that’s unsustainable.”
For example, “the uncertainty of Oracle’s ever-shifting Java licensing terms” raised the cost of ITAM. In addition, problems maintaining compliance could mean project interruptions or penalties.
Organisations often rely on hybrid environments with multiple applications from different vendors. Moreover, 37% of survey participants said compliance was the top issue facing their organisation.
At the same time, 73% of respondents had audited their Oracle Java within the past three years.
And nearly eight in 10 said migrating to open-source Java alternatives could rein in risk and cost.
Mind the gaps in software licensing
In addition, organisations find it harder to track complex software configurations.
And for compliance, organisations have to know where software is installed and running. They have to know how information is managed.
Tracking software usage across teams or between on-premises and cloud platforms can be harder still.
Martin Thompson, founder of the ITAM Forum, said organisations often don’t have enough resource to manage software complexities.
“But poor license management can result in significant financial penalties and operational disruptions,” Thompson said.
Azul’s Sellers suggested considering open-source alternatives to regain budget. Unsurprisingly, in the case of Oracle Java costs, he recommends Azul’s Java platform.
The joint global survey comprised 500 ITAM and software asset management (SAM) professionals. A full report is available at this link.
( Image by Frauke Riether from Pixabay )
