ITAM World [Software Asset Management Conference]
Since the establishment, SAMAC have held large-scale conferences every year. From fiscal 2014, we named the conference “SAM World” and providing small sessions by member companies to deliver more fulfilling content.
From fiscal 2017, the conference name has been changed to “ITAM World” and further updated information and sessions are available. “ITAM World” is the largest IT asset management and software asset management conference in Japan. Please use this event to realize better management.
Software License Seminar
This seminar is for those who oversee procuring and managing software in the organization, those who are involved in license sales, and others who are involved in software licensing work. This seminar aims to promote SAM and covers the following areas: i) Licensing basic knowledge and the latest developments required for SAM, software license compliance, and software license audit, ii) An overview of the licenses for each software publisher, iii) Example of license violation.
In fiscal 2018, the event was held in Tokyo, Fukuoka, and Osaka. Participants’ questionnaires indicated that their satisfaction was 80% or higher, and we are confident that we were able to provide high-quality information.
Working Groups (WG)
Working Groups (WG) is a group that is organized to determine various activities policies and guidelines of this organization.
WG members are composed of SAMAC main members. However, non-SAMAC members can become WG members only when recommended by the WG leader and approved by the WG Steering Committee.
Management Standard / Evaluation Criteria Formulation WG
Formulation of ITAM Standard based on ISO, and ITAM Evaluation Criteria based on the ITAM Standard;
This WG formulates, maintains, and revises ITAM Standard based on ISO, and ITAM Evaluation Criteria based on the ITAM Standard. Also, this WG is working in the activities related to appropriate use and promotion of these Standards.
- IT Asset Management Standards
- IT Asset Management Evaluation Criteria
Certification Criteria WG
Formulation of Certification Criteria as following;
This WG is responsible for setting certification criteria for qualifications provided by SAMAC (for example, CSC / CSCM / CSCC / CSCT / CLM) and provide certification service for these qualifications.
- Certified SAM Consultant (CSC)
- Certified SAM Consultant Master (CSCM)
- Certified SAM Consultant Corporation (CSCC)
- Certified SAM Consultant Trainer (CSCT)
- Certified Software License Manager (CLM)
This WG will examine issues that have arisen from operations based on the formulated standard. In addition, we will review the certification criteria and documentation format as necessary.
CITAM (Certified ITAM Consultant) WG
Training for CITAM certification, and formulation of test materials;
The Certified ITAM Consultant WG plans and implements the following training with the aim of “contributing to the spread and enlightenment of correct ITAM” through education and training.
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Certified ITAM Consultant training (CITAM training)
This training is aimed at developing ITAM Consultants and ITAM Management personnel. This training is for those who are engaged in providing ITAM services or ITAM personnel in your organization.
If you pass both the “License Knowledge” and “Training Comprehension” exams after completing this training, and pass the document examination by SAMAC, you will be able to acquire the certification of Certified SAM Consultant. - Training for update
This training is for Certified ITAM Consultant holders to provide the latest information related to ITAM. - Maturity assessment exercise
In this exercise, we will use ITAM Standards and ITAM Assessment Criteria which are provided by SAMAC. In this exercise, we will provide on-the-job training for maturity assessment procedures, interviews, and report writing while providing services to actual organizations. This is a training for Certified ITAM Consultant holders.
CLM (Certified License Manager) WG
Training for CLM certification, and formulation of test materials;
SAMAC License Manager (CLM: Certified License Manager) is a training aimed at acquiring basic knowledge of licensing. This training is for anyone involved in software licensing. This training was planned by volunteers of SAMAC and started in November 2014.
Software licensing requires life cycle design and management, from procurement to disposal. In this training, you will learn the basic knowledge of licensing, the basics of major vendor licenses, the concept of license agreement and procurement, and license management. The training will be conducted with classroom lectures and workshops.
In this training, pre-assignments of homework will be given. This training is a one-day training. This training will be held 3-4 times a year. This training has been conducted 20 times in the past. Past participants include software procurement officers and license managers of companies and public bodies. Software dealers and system integrator employees also participate.
ITAM World WG
Planning, implementation and support of ITAM World hosted by SAMAC;
The ITAM World Working Group organizes and conducts the “SAMAC Conference (ITAM World)”. The purpose of this conference is to promote the right knowledge of software asset management (SAM) and IT asset management (ITAM), which is also the purpose of SAMAC activities. This conference introduces the methods and user cases necessary for companies and organizations to work on SAM / ITAM, as well as information on license management. ITAM World is an annual seminar that welcomes many participants. This event introduces the latest information related to SAM / ITAM and many user cases. There is also an exhibit booth for member companies. It is held every year as a big event of SAMAC. At this event, we introduce initiatives by companies, central government agencies, and local government officials who are working on SAM / ITAM. This case study has been highly evaluated as a very useful reference for both new SAM / ITAM users and the users already working on SAM / ITAM.
Cloud Service Management WG
Considerations for license management in virtualization and cloud environments;
Conventionally, when implementing SAM, hardware, software, and license materials existed in a visible form to the user. Therefore, it was possible to cope with the conventional general management method such as ledger management and inventory.
However, nowadays, with the virtualization of servers and clients, the use of cloud services has become commonplace. Therefore, there is no entity such as hardware, software package, and installation CD, and software-related materials such as license certificates do not exist in the user’s hands. They are only confirmed on the web screen. In other words, conventional approaches have become unable to respond.
The virtualization / cloud WG is working daily with the goal of helping as many people as possible by studying better methods and providing information, while it is becoming difficult to respond using the conventional SAM concept.
ISO / JIS Conversion Study WG
Examination of tag specifications related to ISO / IEC 19770-2 and 19770-3 and development of tag tools;
ISO / IEC JTC1 SC7 / WG21 (IT Asset Management) establishes IT asset management requirements and various tags (information structure described in XLM schema) that promote quality improvement and labor saving. This WG supports this standardization activity and promotes the JIS Conversion in order to spread it in Japan.
By the last year, we have converted the following five ISO/IEC standards to Japan Industry Standards. [ISO / IEC 19770-1: 2017 (Requirements), 19770-2: 2015 (Software Identification Tag), 19770-3: 2017 (Software Entitlement Schema), 19770-4: 2017 (Resource Utilization Measurement), 19770-5: 2015 (Overview and Vocabulary) to JIS X 0164-1, JIS X 0162-2, JIS X 0164-3, JIS X 0164-4, and JIS X 0164-5]. This year, we are developing ISO / IEC 19770-8 (Guidelines for mapping of industry practices to/from the ISO / IEC 19770 family of standards).
This WG investigates and examines the effective use of these standards. We report the results to our members. In addition, we are conducting enlightenment activities for related parties and making proposals to international standards organizations (ISO / IEC JTC1 SC7 / WG21; IT Asset Management).
Vulnerability Database Study WG
Data linkage between SAMAC software dictionary and IPA_JVN vulnerability countermeasure machine processing platform;
Organizations use a wide variety of software types for business purposes. It is not easy to manage IT assets and thoroughly manage vulnerability information for safe use. In 2014, pervasive open source vulnerabilities such as OpenSSL and Apache Struts were discovered. At this time, it was not possible to determine whether these open sources were used on the server of the own organization. As a result, it was difficult to determine the scope of the vulnerability, making it even more difficult to act. Based on this experience, we thought it was necessary to centralize the security management of software used by organizations. Therefore, in June 2014, we started examining data linkage between the vulnerability countermeasure information of IPA JVN iPedia and the software dictionary of SAMAC. Because the notation of software held by each database may be different, we will create a new linking table using the common platform list (CPE) for data linkage. When this is achieved, vulnerability management information will be linked to software management. This makes it possible to efficiently and effectively implement vulnerability countermeasures for software used in organizations. When this is achieved, vulnerability management information will be linked to software management. This makes it possible to efficiently and effectively implement vulnerability countermeasures for software used in organizations. This WG conducts activities to spread new value through data linkage.
License Seminar WG
Planning, implementation, and examination of a licensing seminar hosted by SAMAC three times a year;
The Licensing Seminar Working Group is responsible for planning and operating the “License Seminar”, which is held in Tokyo in October and Osaka in February each year.
This seminar is one of the few specialized seminars on software licensing in Japan that introduces the latest information on major publisher licenses. We are working to convey information that will be useful for license management through this seminar. Many people participate in the seminar every time.
PR – Marketing WG
Raise awareness of SAMAC and promote appropriate IT asset management;
(Purpose)
Raise awareness of SAMAC in the world and disseminate appropriate IT asset management
- Raise awareness of SAMAC and increase the number of people who support SAMAC activities
- Increase user membership to broaden SAMAC standards
(Main planned activities)
- Study and implement measures to improve member benefits
- Consider how to provide video content for various seminars
- Consider active support measures for member seminars
- Study and implement measures to improve SAMAC’s recognition and reliability
- Serialized articles by the director and WG leader in the media
- Conduct a fixed-point questionnaire as an industry organization
- Review of SAMAC Website (including English page creation)
