UK Conference 2018_Software support and maintenance survey_Martin Thompson

1. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Software support and
maintenance market survey
– 2018 trends and best practices
Martin Thompson, CCL

2. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Why Support and Maintenance?
• Many orgs spend the majority of
budgets on maintenance
• Huge profit contribution for vendors
• Varies by vendor e.g. Microsoft free
bug fixes but no support
• Cloud blend Bug fixes and security updates
Hand-holding assistance
The right to new versions

3. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Research Objectives
• Factors that are important when renewing maintenance
• Key decision makers
• Support call volumes
• Best and worst suppliers

4. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
It can enhance or poison the relationship
"So#ware support and maintenance is the dominant issue determining the
success or failure of a rela6onship with a supplier. A rela)onship built on the best
product on the best terms can s)ll be easily destroyed by bad prac)ce in support
and maintenance, which is seen by some so9ware suppliers as the source of most
revenue and margin from a cap)ve audience."
“This is one of the most important if not the most important topic affec)ng the
rela)onship between a so9ware provider and a customer. It can enhance or
poison the rela6onship”

5. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Research Demographics
• ITAM Review Audience
• April-May 2018
• ~100 Respondents
Three key themes:
1. Not enough scrutiny
2. Security drives profits
3. Strategic ITAM opportunity

6. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Theme 1: Not enough scrutiny
What influences the decision making process?
" I can probably get the data out
of our service management tool,
but that will take some )me. I
don't have it readily available."

7. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Theme 1: Not enough scrutiny
* System Owner - Pla1orm / System /
Service Owner / Applica9on Owner /
Budget Holder
* Finance - Contract Managers /
Procurement / Finance / Vendor
Management / Strategic Sourcing

8. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Theme 1: Not enough scrutiny
• Not enough data to support decision making
• e.g. Least, Most, Best, Worst
• Lack of clarity over legal rights
Which supplier do you log the
LEAST calls with?

9. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Theme 2: Security fears generate profits
What is the biggest fear when not renewing
maintenance?

10. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Theme 2: Security fears generate profits
• Security fears drive profits
• Patch availability greyness
• 3rd party support hindered
• Hardware turning into Software (e.g.
CISCO)
• Products merging with maintenance
(e.g. Software Assurance)
• One fat subscription (Cloud)
“(A) lot of legal scare stories of whether
3rd party so9ware maintenance is
possible or not"
“Hardware is increasingly, slowly, turning
into so9ware as hardware vendors catch
on to the idea that their hardware
microcode (BIOS updates, embedded OS
updates, and the like) are something
which they can deny to customers who do
not purchase so9ware.”
"Lack of access to source code to allow
self iden)fica)on and remedy of faults -
this can be remedied by so9ware escrow
rights."

11. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Theme 2: Security fears generate profits
Was the (third party) support beHer or worse than the original
supplier?

12. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
1. Cut cost, not value
2. 20% Industry Standard
3. Cost / Benefit Analysis
Theme 3: Strategic ITAM Opportunity

13. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
• Centralized procurement &
coordination of the renewals
process
• Economies of scale opportunities
• Global visibility of risk
• Manage process
• Team & communications
• Contract analysis
• Consumption
• Ownership
• Plans
Theme 3: Strategic ITAM Opportunity

14. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Theme 3: Strategic ITAM Opportunity
Questions to ask Stakeholders
• Should support be renewed?
• What are the support call volumes like? Quality of
support or upgrades provided?
• What versions are available versus deployed?
• Planned upgrade and current usage?
• What is the business justification for the
investment?
• What support is required versus current e.g.
Premium?

15. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Theme 3: Strategic ITAM Opportunity
• Pareto 80/20
• Decision Trees
• Clarity through
community
• SAM Technology
• ITAM opportunity
"There is a huge amount of value to be extracted
from seOng up a rigorous process for support
renewals.”
“One can run the product without support if they
have the technical exper)se and don't require the
upgrades un)l they either sunset the product or
opt for upgrade with a rebuy at which )me you
may be able to do beQer than the past 3-5 years of
support spend that goes unused.

16. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Summary and next steps
Three key findings
• Not enough scrutiny
• Security drives profits
• Strategic ITAM opportunity

17. The ITAM Review UK Conference 2018
Thank You