ITAM VOLUNTEERS
A number of independent ITAM consultants have become increasingly concerned about the number of Software providers engaging in formal compliance audits or ‘SAM Engagements’ during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
We feel that this is not the right time to be engaging with customers to make a quick buck, especially with people losing their jobs and organisations facing financial ruin.
What is more concerning is the number of charities and NHS Trusts that have been engaged with. Therefore, we have decided that if you are a charity then we would like to offer our services to you free of charge to help in your defence of any audits or SAM engagements.
In order to meet the criteria for our support, you must be/have:
- Be a registered UK charity and registered with the Charities Commission.
- Be an NHS Trust.
- Have proof that you have received an audit letter or ‘SAM Engagement’ request after 1st March 2020 (the date the UK went into Lockdown).
- Have the ability to send non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to the ITAM volunteer so we can review contracts and data.
- Access to license entitlement records and consumption data.
- Be able to send data to a third-party email address (aka, the consultant’s email).
Volunteers available (all independent consultants – no vendors or sales pitches!):
Consultant | Expertise | Contact |
AJ Witt | Desktop & SaaS | |
Barry Pilling | VMware, Oracle, SAP & any DataCentre software | |
Daniel Begg | IBM, Micro Focus & general Audit Defence | |
David Foxen | Adobe, Autodesk, Veritas & SaaS | |
George Arezina | Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, Informatica and SAS | |
Martin Thompson | Business Continuity Planning and License Management Best Practice | |
Matt Smith | General Licensing and audit defence | |
Rich Gibbons | Microsoft (including Azure) & IaaS | |
Rory Canavan | SAM Audit, Compliance and Defence Processes | |
Stephen Williams | Microsoft and general licensing |
All our volunteers are independent consultants and do not work for software or technology vendors. This results in impartial, honest, and practical guidance on defending your audit.
Disclaimer
The ITAM Volunteers are committed to providing advice and guidance based on the information provided. They will do this during their free time and will always put their existing paid-for clients first. Should you wish to engage with our voluntary services, you acknowledge that the ITAM Volunteer will not harbour any of the risk or responsibility for any non-compliance or fines that result as an output from the audit.
Finally, the ITAM Volunteers will provide advice and guidance to the best of their knowledge and to best endeavours. It is your decision as to whether you wish to take action on the advice provided.
