The subject of standards can arouse passions in a few people, but for others it is mind‐numbingly boring. Nonetheless, our lives are dominated by standards – even currencies are really standards, alternatives to the gold standard. If we did not have such standards, the business world as we know it would not exist, and our social and personal worlds would also be turned upside down. The development of the business world tends to be accompanied by the development of standards, to allow people and organizations to work together more effectively and efficiently.

SAM or ITAM?

There is sometimes debate about whether one should talk primarily about Software Asset Management (‘SAM’) or IT Asset Management (‘ITAM’). In reality this is largely an academic argument. In the Asset Management area, the same job has to be done regardless of what you call it. Neither term is 100% accurate or comprehensive for everything you need to do unless you push the literal definitions: what needs to be managed includes not only traditional asset classes but also things like organization, people, knowledge, and capital. SAM is overwhelmingly the more common term in use on the internet (as can be verified e.g. with Google). However, ITAM is intrinsically the more inclusive term.

To read the full document please download the attached file

Note: This article first appeared in ITAK, the journal of the International Association of IT Asset Managers – see www.iaitam.org. The author is David Bicket, Convener of ISO/IEC JTC1 SC7 WG21. The views expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of ISO/IEC or of any other organization. Information as of September 2008.