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HOT OFF THE PRESS!

Submitted by Rita Bowman on Thu, 2006-04-27 20:59. legal

At last there is a comprehensive, fun-to-read book about Software Asset Management, MODERN PIRATES, Protect Your Company From The Software Police by Alan L. Plastow of BizTechNet.org. Alan’s conversational style will hold your attention, not put you to sleep, while opening portholes of little known insights into the Software Asset Management and associated fields.

This is the first publication I've seen outside of some certification courses that tells it as it is while offering important insights and solutions. Alan L. Plastow has an extensive background in Software Asset Management. He is a dynamic instructor and author. As I read MODERN PIRATES my mind kept asking, "Who are the real pirates?"

Few people are aware that piracy, or software copyright non-compliance, is a symptom of deeper problems within the company. MODERN PIRATES reveals problems as well as how exposed your company really is, as a target of the ever-growing enforcement industry, by merely owning computing devices. Find out how the cards are stacked against you!

I particularly liked the recognition of the position in which many Software Asset Managers are placed when diligently trying to protect their companies and save needlessly spent dollars. Do you have executive backing? Or are you simply a placeholder to give your company the appearance of addressing software compliance by only tracking software licenses? Are you allowed to open the treasure chest of benefits and savings that an effective Software Asset Management program delivers?

Are you in a scapegoat situation, on the verge of being forced down the gang-plank as your company "commit[s] software suicide"? Read the foot notes on each page to see fines paid by companies of varying sizes...these are just the fines, not the total cost of an infringement action.

MODERN PIRATES is a must read for those who know little or nothing, or have misconceptions, about the field of Software Asset Management. It is also a very handy review and reference for us veterans, although I did learn interesting new things. MODERN PIRATES would be a thoughtful gift for an unbelieving boss or exectutive staff. Read Chapter 1 for yourself.

MODERN PIRATES is available on Amazon (search on Modern Pirates) and Barns and Noble (search on Alan L. Plastow). Let us know your thoughts about this unusually fun read on a most serious topic.

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“Modern Pirates”, or “P

Submitted by Tom Wills on Tue, 2006-05-02 09:36.

“Modern Pirates”, or “Protect Your Company from the Software Police”, is one excellent book for everyone dealing with I.T. to have in their library. In fact, even certain non-I.T. people should have this book in their library. Those people include CEO's and CFO's plus a number of other "C-level" personnel.

Al Plastow, one of the top experts, if not the top expert in I.T. Asset Management and especially software compliance has done a magnificent job of putting together this book. It should be remembered by every reader that Al Plastow is not a new figure on the scene, but someone who has been in the I.T. Asset management field for many years. He has written training courses on I.T. Asset Management and Software Compliance. He is no stranger to the daily rigors that I.T. personnel have to go through. He is speaking from real-life experience.

The best part of this book is it is understandable to I.T. personnel of all levels, from the tech support staff to the CIO. It wouldn't hurt for people such as consultants to obtain this book and read it from cover to cover more than one time. Consultants in many ways have more to lose in a non-compliance event than a company.

One thing that keeps the reader focused while reading this book is that at the bottom of every page is a one line reference to a non-compliance settlement. For example, on page 148, “Settlement: TX – Hospital Gift Shop - $100,000”. Or how about on page 25, “Settlement” OH – Computer Sales Co, - $984,000”. Most readers of this book fit in there somewhere, from the small organization to the large corporation to the I.T. world itself, which as can be seen is anything but exempt from non-compliance actions. There hundreds of examples will help keep the reader focused on the subject being discussed. If it doesn’t, you already have a problem.

Al uses humor throughout this book in a very educational way, which in itself keeps this from becoming a very dry subject. Use of “Real World” examples makes the reader realize just how vulnerable I.T. personnel can be, despite every effort to not become a target. There are any number of tips and suggestions to help make that target on your back become smaller.

This is a four-star book of software compliance. Don’t hesitate, order your copy now. And no, I am getting nothing from my endorsement of the book except the satisfaction of knowing I am passing along my heart-felt opinions.

Thomas A. Wills, CSM, CITAM
Information Systems Manager
Tucson, AZ

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