Learning is fun. Knowledge is a burden.
In my free time, I am a technical diver. I plan and execute dives in caves for fun. This wasn’t something I ever set out to do, it just happened over the last 22 years.
I first learnt to dive in the warm waters of the Maldives, it was so warm we simply wore shorts and a t-shirt on our course, I loved it but there was no way I was diving in the UK, it’s too cold, dark and there’s nothing to see (so I thought).
Unfortunately, I was hooked by the bug so it wasn’t long before I was looking up my local dive centre and booking the next level course.
Recreational diving education is fun and well-structured, it is designed to draw you into the curriculum and always leaves you wanting the next instalment (just like a good TV series).
What has this all got to do with SAM?
I never set out to work in the world of SAM, I was a “techie”, I worked for Oracle and I loved it (I have admitted this before). When I left Oracle in 2006 I was introduced to the world of software licensing and SAM. It was new, different and interesting (to me anyway). Everything I encountered was a new problem that could be approached in several ways and my background in software development and solution design lead to me dreaming up lots of new bits of code to solve problems.
The more I learnt about SAM and software licensing the more I was intrigued by the metadata that *should* make the task at hand a lot simpler than it is. It’s not as if a standard doesn’t exist. A lot of clever people before me have applied their minds to the problem and evolved the solution into a set of standards. ISO 19770 is the catchy title that covers the concepts within software asset management and provides a standardised approach to documenting software entitlement, usage and calculating a position.
Like with a lot of these standards, it is, unfortunately, not mandatory for software vendors to comply with the parts of the ISO 19770 that would apply to them. Specifically, I’m talking about ISO 19770–2 which deals with the concepts of tagging or software ID (SWID). Imagine how easy it would be if all vendors tagged their software so that it was easily identifiable by SAM tools? Unfortunately, a large number don’t support SWID and, in some cases, wilfully avoid them for commercial profit.
ISO-19770 is a well-intentioned solution to the problem but it has no impetus for implementation unless it is supported by the software industry.
So, in the absence of a set of standards, methodology and approach that everyone agrees with, what has evolved is a SAM marketplace where those who lack the knowledge are sold solutions that are inappropriate for their needs often by people without the appropriate skills or experience to ensure they are offering the best advice. Worse still, the uneducated or partially educated make assumptions about approaches to problems and end up getting burnt by the scalding waters of commercial and financial non-compliance.
This brings me back to diving.
The diving industry is pretty similar to the SAM marketplace in that it is extremely hard to ensure you are getting the best advice when you start your diving journey.
Sure, there are standards and instructors will be trained to apply those standards. However, the list of agencies developing those standards is mind-boggling. Most people will have heard of PADI but what about the others? How about SSI, PSAI, NAUI, BSAC, CMAS, SDI, TDI, IANTD, RAID, CDG, GUE? Who would have thought there were so many ways of documenting and implementing a set of “standards”, surely if there are so many versions of a standard it ceases to be a standard.
Then there are the instructors. Heed my words when I tell you that not all instructors are created equal and it is the instructor who is the channel of communication to you, it is the instructor who applies the standards to you and educates you. A poor instructor cannot implement a good standard. The trouble is for you, you won’t know whether the instructor was any good until you are much further down the line in your diving education. Just paying the fee doesn’t guarantee quality.
Is any of this ringing true with you? The same things I’m saying about diving can be applied to the SAM industry. It’s all a bit wild west out there and the customer is always the one who suffers whether that be at the hands of unscrupulous software salespeople or self-appointed experts whose primary skill is self-promotion.
Since 2005 I’ve been diving in caves, this is both a highly rewarding and potentially life-limiting past time (if done incorrectly) that allows its practitioners access to parts of our planet earth that very few others have seen (more humans have stood on the moon than been to the end of Pozo Azul cave)
Even in the relatively small community of cave diving different sets of standards and methodologies have evolved to solve the problems faced by the practitioners.
In the UK we have the CDG, who evolved caving and diving in the caves of Yorkshire, Somerset, Derbyshire and Wales where often the diving is zero-visibility and is best described as challenging, to say the least. The CDG approach to cave diving, and in fact any diving, is to go solo. Be totally self-sufficient and responsible for ones-self at all times. You get yourself into the problem and you get yourself out of the problem or you’re likely going to suffer an early demise.
Evolving from Florida where the cave passages are often wide and the water is gin-clear we have the GUE who advocate team-diving in teams of three where everyone uses the same equipment, configured in the same way and in the event of a problem your teammates are there to help you.
The two approaches couldn’t be further apart yet they each have their supporters and practitioners. As usual, there are zealots who will tell you the ONLY way to dive is their way. What this tells me is that they haven’t yet travelled far enough on their diving journey to realise that each approach has its merits and has an environment in which it excels.
I didn’t just wake up to this conclusion it’s a hard-won state of mind. The product of my educators, making mistakes, absorbing information in books and the internet and thinking for myself.
Exactly the same mantra applies to the SAM world. There is never a single solution to a problem (especially not SAM tools) and likewise, some solutions are better than others in certain situations. Question is, how do you know which one is right for you and your circumstances?
Very simple. Talk to as many people as you can in the industry, ask the tools vendors for real-world demos, speak to their reference customers, join the forums and do lots and lots of reading. You can also find yourself an experienced SAM consultant who can advise you on the right approach, the right tools and the best people to help you achieve what you want to achieve. The good ones will be more than happy to have an honest conversation with you.
Once you’ve assimilated all that information and distilled it down to a set of opinions, apply a healthy dose of cynicism to anything a tool vendor tells you and you will be on the path to enlightenment.
So, why is learning fun and knowledge a burden?
Simple really, the more you know, the more you are aware of the risks and pitfalls. I always enjoy learning new diving-related techniques, researching equipment and meeting new divers who can teach me something. All this knowledge comes with a price, the price being that because I have learned a fair bit about the risks of diving and how to mitigate them, I’m less and less inclined to go diving without mitigating those risks and sometimes it’s just not possible. Once again the same applies to SAM, the more I learn, the more I realise there is never a simple answer to a problem. Explaining that to the uninitiated is time-consuming and frustrating. Problem is, I cannot just give the easy answer.
If you fancy talking SAM or diving I’d love to hear from you.
About The Author
Jason Pepper is the Head of SAM Practice here at Version 1.
