Software Asset Management (SAM), brings about the effective management and optimization of software applications. The software systems are a necessity to all the organizations to run the daily operations. As the organization grows, the systems become complex, overlapping and being highly dependent on each other. It thus becomes increasingly important to have an effective plan to gain control over the IT inventory.
The Company- Cynthia Farren Consulting
Cynthia Farren Consulting is a national independent Software Asset Management and software license procurement firm. With over 20 years of experience guiding customers in optimizing their software and subscription environments they know how to save you money while avoiding risk through properly managing software licenses, subscriptions and software publishers.
Their deepest expertise is in Microsoft licensing where they regularly help Fortune 500 companies negotiate effective Microsoft agreements and provide guidance to avoid risk of non-compliance with licensing terms.
Cutting Through the Complexities-
In 1999, when Cynthia Farren started the business, software audits were not commonplace, and CIO’s were not focused on the risk they were running by not having access to experts in licensing. Most licensing advisors worked for the reseller’s, so their focus was on the shiny new toys – not alerting CIO’s to their potential copyright infringement. Getting the conversation started in this environment was an uphill battle.
What triggered the growth of the company was the focus shift in business to governance and controls through Sarbanes-Oxley combined with a resurgence of software audits by the popular software publishers (Adobe, Microsoft, Oracle, etc).
The next point that triggered significant revenue growth was the recession. During the recession more Fortune 100 and 500 started looking outside the big consulting firms for expertise – in niche industries such as this, they started finding that smaller specialty firms could produce outstanding results for a considerably lower price tag.
The Growth Quotient-
Being in business for over 21 years it is easy to see how cyclical the world of software licensing and compliance are. In 1999 the industry was in mid-cycle of no software audits and relaxed controls, within 5 years that cycle changed. Eight years later they saw themselves exiting the recession and the focus had once again shifted away from controls and audits towards enablement. With another 8 years down the road and with a fresh recession looming, the demands for audits are rising slowly again.
Each business cycle tends to retain some of the controls from the prior cycle but the licensing rules and mechanisms also get trickier so without an expert in your back pocket it’s hard to get a cost optimized agreement that is also geared towards managing risks of noncompliance.
Having gone through various cycles of business, one thing that was, is and will remain true for Cynthia Farren Consulting is their customer centric service model.
Whatever solution we are providing our focus is always on what is in the best interest of our customer.
The company believes in truly building a relationship with their customers, where they don’t simply educate them but contribute to the solution and often become the “go to” resource whether it is a referral to an expert in another field or a donation for the annual charity auction. Additionally, their relationship does not end just because a contract ends – their customers know they can always reach out to them and have a conversation.
If that’s all it takes to give them a path forward or answer to their needs, then we were happy to catch up with them as a relationship is about people not money.
The Products and Services-
- Software Asset Management (ad hoc or managed service)
- Software Audit Response Management
- Merger, Acquisition and Divestiture License Allocation
- Cloud and Subscription Spend Optimization
- Software Procurement Negotiations (ad hoc or managed service)
- Microsoft Agreements
- Adobe Agreements
- Autodesk Agreements
- Microsoft licensing assessments (ad hoc or managed service)
We believe that independence is critical to providing you with the unbiased expertise you deserve.
Cynthia Farren Consulting does not resell software and does not have partnering relationships with tool publishers eliminating any potential conflict of interest in meeting your business needs.
Cynthia Farren- Leading the Way
I often credit the longevity and success of my business to my start as a bank teller, customer service phone representative and a secretary – three roles completely unrelated to Software Asset Management but they taught me critical business skills.
Through these roles, she learned about dual entry accounting, how to work with any software tool, how to listen and that someone has to sweep the floors, lock the doors and occasionally tell the boss that she’s wrong – in a way in which the message will get heard.
In the early 90’s she transitioned into IT and had the opportunity to implement and run multiple Software Asset Management programs within multi-national firms. Working with her first Microsoft agreements back during the Microsoft Select 2.0 program – Cynthia soon realized that she had found the type of work she would love to do.
In the 21 years since founding Cynthia Farren Consulting she has had the joy of working with over a hundred different companies mostly large international firms but a few very small entities as well. It’s impossible to calculate the savings generated through cost avoidance but negotiated savings on agreements is now over well over $500 million! That’s a fun ROI!
The Enterprise World is always been keen on finding that one thing that pushes the entrepreneurs to their limits, some quote they might have heard or read somewhere which keeps them motivated! Not just the budding entrepreneurs, but something like this gives everyone a fresh perspective at what they are doing. Because a little motivation sure does go a long way!
All my challenges are opportunities to be creative, and I am infinitely creative!” – was given to me as an affirmation by a former boss and it has become one of the most impactful affirmations in my life.
Magazine Link – The Best Performing Microsoft Solution Providers to Watch in 2021
