Modern companies rely on a long list of IT products to maintain operations. From software to hardware, managing these assets, including how they are purchased and how they are distributed, can be challenging. It’s for this reason that Stefanini was selected to guide a multinational, industry-leading credit card company through a journey of digital transformation by creating, implementing and maintaining a strategy for IT asset management (ITAM).
Situation:
Companies rely on a wide variety of software to keep their businesses running. While some of these tools may be free, others come with hefty costs – and with these tools constantly changing, it can be difficult for companies to tackle their software needs on their own. Stefanini’s expert understanding of licensing allowed us to step in and find the best price and licensing structure for the client.
Challenge:
Through its previous service provider, the credit card company did not have any visibility into accurate IT asset data. Although there was an ITAM tool in place, the provider was not properly tracking software licenses. Each customer request for enhanced tracking, reporting and basic services carried an uplift charge, making it both complicated and costly to identify what hardware and software assets were in the environment.
As a result, there was little to no planning involved in purchasing software. Instead, each request resulted in an individual purchase with no thought given to purchasing in bulk, renewing old licenses, or harvesting unused licenses. This lack of tracking and strategy also made it impossible for the credit card company to budget for its software needs. With all of this in mind, the company was ready to make a change.
Solution:
Stefanini’s ITAM team provides a seamless process for tracking IT equipment, including hardware and software, from procurement through end-of-life. To help the client through their journey, the team began by establishing a clear procedure for processing license requests and started pulling reports to track the frequency at which certain software was being requested.
To streamline the process, the various sets of licenses were split across the team, allowing each person to focus on a specific set. Based on the cost of the software and quantity of requests, the ITAM team quickly established a software priority list and began purchasing highly requested licenses in bulk, leading to short and long-term cost savings and easier forecasting.
The team found multiple opportunities to drive additional cost savings. First, time was devoted to combing through high-volume titles, evaluating their costs and benefits. Second, close attention was paid to employee turnover to determine when new software was needed. Third, the team looked for employees with licenses that are no longer being used that could potentially be allocated to a different employee in place of purchasing a new one. These strategies were used to procure software more efficiently and cost effectively, taking ownership of the project and developing a strong, trusting partnership with the client.
Results:
The first big savings came with the purchasing of 1,000 Think-Cell licenses. By purchasing these licenses in bulk, the ITAM team was able to save the client $89,000 out of the gate. But this number only represents the cost savings from one piece of software. What sort of results were delivered by the larger asset management strategy?
Our streamlined asset procurement and management process led to less administrative time spent processing individual software requests, a shorter turnaround time to get employees the software they need when they need it, and more than $1 million in savings within the first year.
To date, the client has seen $2.7 million in savings. Spread across more than 40,000 employees, this breaks down to approximately $45 saved per device. But as the partnership between Stefanini and the client continues to thrive, these numbers are continuing to grow. The long-term, multi-year benefit of asset management means that the credit card company will continue to see the impact of the ITAM team’s effort and expertise for years to come.
