How a global telecom company elevated its SAM maturity with EY SAM platform

A multinational telecommunications company with operations spanning Europe, Asia and North America was looking at a strong growth trajectory fueled by both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. It also witnessed a rapidly rising need for effective IT asset management solutions. The company recognized numerous opportunities to enhance cost effectiveness through software license management strategies and software asset rationalization, achievable with software asset management (SAM) optimization.

The absence of a formal SAM framework was exacerbating the difficulties in overseeing its software asset portfolio. With numerous software vendors, diverse licensing agreements proved to be a persistent challenge and the company needed effective vendor management in IT asset governance. Limited visibility into software and cloud expenses further hindered budgeting and cost control efforts, requiring a reduction in IT operational costs. The reliance on manual processes for tracking and managing software licenses resulted in inefficiencies, errors, and unreliable inventory and entitlement data.

To meet its multifaceted efficiency objectives, the company needed a thought partner capable of providing a solution to project-manage the implementation of automation solutions for IT software and hardware management. At the same time, it was essential to enhance the maturity of its IT operational processes to support acquisitions, cloud migrations and implementing IT cost reduction techniques.

The multinational telecommunications company collaborated with EY to transform its SAM process while implementing IT governance best practices. Together, the two organizations developed a customized SAM vision and automated IT asset management reporting through EY SAM platform. The initiative focused on three key areas:

The company’s transformation began with standardized IT asset lifecycle management and SAM optimization, ensuring consistency and oversight. Deploying EY SAM platform enabled real-time insights, proactive asset management and software license optimization, leading to significant cost savings. A governance framework reinforced enterprise software compliance and continuous improvement, enabling high SAM maturity levels.

The company’s key initiatives included categorizing vendors by risk, streamlining compliance reporting, identifying remediation opportunities, supporting audits and enhancing cloud cost optimization. They also established a hardware asset baseline for both compute and non-compute devices to align with a comprehensive IT asset lifecycle management approach.

Enhanced IT governance best practices led to additional support to M&As, risk mitigation, aligning acquisitions and streamlining integration with expert guidance on cultural and technological transitions. With a robust audit defense strategy, the telecom company could ensure compliance with major vendors, while regular entitlement and deployment assessments prevented compliance issues during audits. In addition, collaborating closely with its security department, the company could address the issue of unauthorized software installations.

The transformation streamlined :

Through a strategic transformation, the company advanced its SAM maturity model from level 2 (basic/repeatable) to level 4 (managed). Through the deployment of EY SAM platform, the company gained enhanced control, real-time monitoring and improved efficiency in managing software assets. 

The organization also established a comprehensive IT asset baseline, effectively mitigating compliance risks while enhancing the value of its IT investments, bolstering its overall growth and market competitiveness. While EY assisted in cloud optimization and transition initiatives, the company conducted in-depth analyses of cloud service consumption and monthly reviews of Azure expenses, identifying significant cost-saving opportunities. The company generated detailed usage analysis reports, leading to greater visibility and alignment and mapping cloud usage data to the company’s project teams for more effective budget management.

The best practice guidance and actionable insights further empowered the company to make informed decisions on both current and future cloud investments. Optimizing license and cloud expenditure led to substantial savings.

The identification of cost-saving opportunities, effective management of unauthorized software usage, and the minimization of under-utilization significantly enhanced the company’s overall financial performance.

To sustain and enhance its SAM maturity model, the company’s future strategy will center on continuous improvement, strategic technology investments, and enhanced vendor management. The organization aims to derive more value by integrating SAM with broader IT governance frameworks and expanding its reach to emerging technologies such as cloud services and the Internet of Things (IoT). Additionally, the company plans to further refine its risk management approach and adopt industry and IT governance best practices through benchmarking, ensuring that its SAM remains robust, compliant, and strategically aligned with overall business objectives.