Essentia launches SAM Network to support NHS in managing software licences

Published: 10-Oct-2014

Essentia SAM Network is an innovative knowledge-sharing community for NHS staff responsible for Software Asset Management


Essentia is to launch The Essentia SAM Network, an innovative new knowledge-sharing community for NHS staff responsible for Software Asset Management (SAM).

SAM touches many areas in every business. It involves managing and optimising the purchase, use, maintenance and disposal of software applications. Since the Department of Health stopped providing the Microsoft ‘umbrella-tyle’ enterprise agreement in 2010, all NHS organisations have had to take local responsibility for acquiring and managing their own licences. This has led to confusion, uncertainty and anxiety,as well as a significant increase in costs across the 400-plus organisations within the NHS.

Essentia believes that action is urgently needed, given that many trusts are now having to master complex and rapidly-changing licence terms and user behaviours, and face a much-larger spend than they might have anticipated. The community approach of The Essentia SAM Network will allow organisations to support and learn from each other.

“Software Asset Management is a specialism that few trusts will have the time or resource to fully acquire

“Software Asset Management is a specialism that few trusts will have the time or resource to fully acquire," said Andy Hill, head of software asset management at Essentia.

"Ignoring the issue could lead to more problems, particularly as individual trusts could be audited at any given time.

"We’ve done a lot of SAM work at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and know firsthand how complex it can be. The Essentia SAM Network will link those with SAM responsibilities to share ideas, answer questions and engage with software vendors as a united NHS through an online subscription service as well as a quarterly event attended by industry experts."

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