What is more important: a new company car or a new software package? (On second thoughts, don’t answer that.)
The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) thinks that company directors have got their priorities wrong. At a recent seminar held by FAST’s asset management group (AMG) at the Institute of Directors, delegates heard how a company with 2,000 employees typically places a value on its fleet of company cars of about £400,000 but does not always place a value on its software, despite this usually being worth more than twice as much.
Glenn Stephens, of AMG member Centennial UK, comments: “Assets like company cars are tangible so no organisation is in any doubt about the need to manage and protect that investment. Software however is not instantly visible, which leads many organisations to omit giving it value. The AMG is tasked with redressing that balance and ensuring that end-users are truly maximising corporate budgets.”
Says John Lovelock, manager of legal affairs at FAST: “Companies are still failing to recognise that their software is an asset as well as a business tool. It is essential that it is both managed effectively and given a write-down value – the AMG is an industry voice that will drive home that message.”
The seminar also referred to Gartner research figures showing that an effective asset management strategy can reduce IT budgets by between 10% and 30%, and provide legal software compliance as a by-product.
