Microsoft SAM Services Program
 

The Microsoft SAM Services program was launched in the Fall of 2011 and is designed to help enterprise customers with properly and proactively managing software licenses. The program's services are being provided at no cost to Microsoft customers. Soft-Aid is qualfiied by Microsoft to provide these services. They are designed to:

•   Help Microsoft customers understand how to reconcile software use to their entitlements


•   Outline ways they can improve their SAM policies and practices to lower costs and reduce risk


•   Create a plan to deploy and adopt the necessary software tools to track and manage software use on an ongoing basis

The engagements are typically driven by a customer's interest in gaining visiblity into their IT environment, which often is triggered by one of the following events. Engagements deliver value to customers who might otherwise struggle with key events like their annual Enterprise Agreement (EA) True-Ups.

Microsoft customers with at least 250 desktops and one or more of the following volume licensing contract types qualify:

•   Enterprise Agreement (EA)
•   Enterprise Agreement Subscription
•   Select License Agreement
•   Select Plus Agreement
•   Academic Select Agreement

The options for the three funded services include ....

Option #1 ( “License Baseline”):

Microsoft will cover the cost for Soft-Aid to help you create a baseline or snapshot of your Microsoft software inventory environment. Soft-Aid will help deploy or ptimize your existing inventory tools and then create a reconciliation between license entitlements and deployment information. The output can be very helpful in ensuring that you are not over-buying software and take full advantage of the entitlements that come from your existing Microsoft licenses. Many customers use the data to open up discussions as to what technology adoption and roadmap for improvement makes the most sense for your organization.

Microsoft funded SAM engagements help their customers:

•   Create and maintain an inventory of licenses and deployments
•   Understand the Product Use Rights that accompany licenses to maximize software investment
•   Effectively manage annual reconciliations such as Enterprise Agreement (EA) True-Ups
•   Make smart buying decisions
•   Expose them to licensing changes and how they can be utlized in the customer's favor
•   Positively impacts customer relationships with Microsoft and helps with vetting technology adoption plans.

Option #2 (“SAM Practices Assessment”):

Microsoft will cover the cost for Soft-Aid to help you assess the state of your software asset management practices. We will outline your overall maturity in 10+ practice areas that include software requisition, procurement, and retirement, for instance, and highlight strengths and areas for improvement. We will identify what roles are needed and how to sell a SAM program to internal constituents. At the end of the engagement, you will receive a written report and series of recommendations drawn from interviews and on-site observation, as applicable. Many customers use this report to build the business case for a more developed SAM program that aligns well with other services that Soft-Aid provides.

Option #3 (“SAM Tool Deployment Planning”):

Microsoft will cover the cost for Soft-Aid to provide a proof-of-concept (POC) for one of four Microsoft software asset management tools.

Those tools include:

1. Microsoft Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr/SCCM)
2. the Microsoft Asset Inventory Service (AIS)
3. Windows Intune
4. the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit

Soft-Aid has deep experience using all of these tools.

With ConfigMgr, in particular, Soft-Aid will provide a comprehensive guide on how to fully configure the IT Asset Management capabilities and features in the tool -- click here for more info. At the end of such an engagement, you will understand how to leverage the tool in your current asset management workflows. This will be detailed in a SAM Deployment Planning report that includes a SAM improvement plan for the state of your inventory processes.

If any of these services are of interest, please do not hesitate to contact us for more info and to see how you qualify at info at aid.com

FAQ:

1. The deliverables that are shared with Microsoft are the natural outcome of the funded engagements.
2. Soft-Aid does not resell software and maintains a very client centric and value oriented approach when working with customers. Customer satisfaction is our utmost focus and is one reason why we have consistently received high marks from the 100+ customers that have worked with us doing similar work over the last few years.