The ITAM Forum Podcast

In this episode, we shine a spotlight on the ITAM Excellence Awards 2025 Consultant of the Year. Celebrating expertise, client impact, and the ability to turn complex challenges into practical outcomes, this winner shares the approaches, insights, and experiences that have helped organisations strengthen their ITAM practices and deliver lasting value. “You can be the cleverest person in the room, you can have every single skill and be a master of all vendors, but if you're unable to communicate that to the right people you won't get your message across. So I think its so important your soft skills separates you from a good ITAM consultant to a great one. ” - Erin McClean, Synyega

In this episode, we shine a spotlight on the ITAM Excellence Awards 2025 Professional of the Year winner. Recognising outstanding leadership, measurable impact, and a commitment to advancing the discipline, this winner reflects on the achievements, challenges, and strategic decisions that set them apart — and what excellence in ITAM truly looks like at the highest level. “It was just reaching out, forming a team and having good conversations about ITAM and about other teams. If procurement brings something up, let's talk about it - what the problem is and how to get over that bump.” - Jerry Frazier, Toyota North America

In this episode, we speak with Yorick Heijink from Brand Compliance, the official auditor of the ISO/IEC 19770-1 Certification Scheme. If your organisation is considering certification, this is a must-listen-to episode - it provides you with great insight direct from the person who will be on-site with your team performing the audit. Yorick talks us through a typical audit process, explains what a 'management system' is, why you need management buy-in, and the importance of reading and understanding the -1 standard itself. He also shares what he likes most about being a certification auditor. Here's one of our favourite clips from the episode: “These customers are my clients, and my job is to certify them, when they are compliant. I'm not there to find non-conformities. I'm not there to break down the system. In the end, my objective is to help you. But, in my role, I have to stay objective, and I cannot give any advise, which is always the tricky part."

In this episode, we speak with Ash Dharas (Softline Group Northern Europe) and Patrick Milas (HDI Group) about their experiences achieving ISO/IEC 19770-1 certification - these are the world's first two organisations to achieve ISO ITAM certification. Here' are two of our favourite clips from this episode: “The benefits of ITAM are much broader than people think. It is the nucleus for every other IT process. If you don’t know what you have, you can’t manage it. The audit process was the perfect way to get all the relevant stakeholders across the business in one room to make the case for ITAM and demonstrate its value.” - Patrick Milas, HDI Group “It is a humbling experience, but it ultimately improves the quality of your ITAM practices. It was a very enlightening journey and well worth the effort.” - Ash Dharas, Softline Group Northern Europe

In this episode, we speak with Alastair Pooley (CIO, Snow Software) about key findings from Snow's 2023 IT Priorities Report and the opportunities for ITAM. The bottom line is there are many opportunities for ITAM - some you would expect, some that may come as a surprise. Together, they present ITAM with a real opportunity to become a strategic, trusted advisor. Here's one of our favourite clips from this episode: “We’re happier now buying SaaS applications than we were before COVID hit. I think this is a permanent shift in how we buy software. But, it’s harder to manage. This is where ITAM can really help. Managing this and helping to prevent any surprises when unexpected cloud bills arrive is something ITAM professionals can really help with.” The 2023 IT Priorities Report: www.snowsoftware.com/go/it-prioriti…BoChAoQAvD_BwE

If you, as an ITAM professional, want to learn how you can make a difference by reducing e-waste (the fastest growing waste stream in the world), this podcast episode is for you. AJ Witt is the best person we know to address how ITAM can positively contribute to sustainability programs. Whether it's in regards to hardware or software, as AJ says, "You have the ability to make a difference."

We speak with Ron Brill, chair of the ITAM Standards Committee, to learn more about ISO and the ISO ITAM family of standards (19770) and what's coming down the pipeline. We also touch on FinOps and Sustainability and how ITAM can contribute. Our favourite quote from this episode: "It's my guess that it will be ITAM that will have to adapt to be more like FinOps than the other way around." Besides his role with the ITAM Standards Committee, Ron is also Vice Chair of the ITAM Forum's Trustee Board and the Chairman at Anglepoint. He's also a FinOps Certified Practitioner (and holds many other certifications).

We speak with Brian Adler from Flexera about key findings from the 2022 State of ITAM report. Brian is Senior Director, Cloud Market Strategy, at Flexera and a Governing Board Member of the FinOps Foundation. We discussed how ITAM professionals are creating more time (thanks to tools and automation) to focus on non-audit activities and the rising percentage of ITAMers who are now part of their organisation's CCoE (Cloud Center of Excellence) team...and much more. You can access the full 2022 State of ITAM report here: info.flexera.com/ITAM-REPORT-Stat…Asset-Management

In this episode, we shine a spotlight on the ITAM Excellence Awards 2025 Partner of the Year winner. From building trusted relationships to delivering real-world impact, the winner shares their approach to collaboration, lessons learned, and what it takes to be a true strategic partner in ITAM. “Reducing drama is a superpower in an enterprise IT.” - Kerim Yuksel

In this episode, we shine a spotlight on the ITAM Excellence Awards 2025 Rising Star. From early career milestones to standout contributions, the winner shares insights, lessons learned, and what it takes to make a meaningful impact in ITAM. “If my experience encourages someone to take a second look at ITAM or feel excited about pursuing it, then that’s incredibly rewarding for me.” - Katherine Caruso

What happens when ITAM and FinOps teams stop working in silos? Real savings. In this episode, we break down how combining IT asset intelligence with financial optimization practices—like BYOL, license portability, reserved instances, and hybrid use benefits—can drive tangible cloud and software cost reductions. Tune in for practical examples and takeaways you can apply immediately. Our favourite takeaway: “You’ve got two options: you can get on board with it and be part of that conversation… or you can stand still and hope for the best.” - Ryan Hardcastle

Calling all Hardware Asset Managers and IT Service Management pros. This episode is for you! Martin Thompson speak with George Deligiannoudis, the CEO of Mobilise IT about MDM (mobile device management), EMM (enterprise mobility management), and UEM (unified endpoint management). They also touch on ZTM (zero-touch mobility) and how AI-driven robots and industrial devices fall into all of this. You don’t want to have a security threat arise with these devices either (think HAL 9000). One of our favorite quotes from this episode: “The proliferation of devices and the IoT explosion, which is expected to reach 40 billion+ devices by 2030, is not only becoming a technical nightmare for any enterprise but also a scale and cost issue.”

In this podcast we take a hard look at where we really stand with software audits as we head into 2026 – who’s actually auditing, how their tactics have shifted, and where the real risk now sits. We unpack “cooperative” audit-immunity deals (like IBM’s), the rise of volume-based audits over strategically targeting customers, and the new players stepping in as old names step back. We will also the new audit defence tactics that will be required as we move towards more AI-driven, consumption based metrics. "Within three days of expiring, the Audit letter and hit them out and they're literally coming three days after said like we're going to order you now. When you think about the amount of time it takes them to plan that, because the Audit letter mentions the auditor it mentions the Audit company, it mentions the contract so they've also been planning this over two or three weeks. So they knew before long before the ELA was going to expire that they were going to come in an audit just to make sure that there was no further revenue I could get from the relationship. " Barry Pilling, bedigital

AI promises smarter IT Asset Management, but only when the data and decisions behind it can be trusted. In this episode, we unpack how organizations are using data and AI in ITAM, where things can go wrong, and what responsible adoption really looks like. The conversation highlights real-world challenges, governance considerations, and the mindset needed to balance speed, insight, and control. "But in order for us to start leveraging at scale these kind of capabilities, we need to have that foundational trust. And that's nothing new. That's been the case for IT asset management for as long as I've, you know, been in this industry, which is a long time. You know, so having trustworthy data underpinning your IT asset management practice has always been the case, and it's no different now. " - Kieron Dean, SeriveNow

In this episode, SHI and SoftwareOne delve into the critical role of relationship management in ITAM, emphasising its significance in fostering collaboration and facilitating change. We also discuss how embracing relationship management, including effective change management—can enhance communication, build trust, and create a more inclusive environment. Join us as we explore actionable strategies to develop these essential soft skills and elevate the impact of ITAM in today’s dynamic business landscape. "We're in a unique position where we have so much data, and we influence all the business. It is the backbone of any business, and they spend millions on it. It's getting that message across that, we could really drive value with our item knowledge and experience and the data we have." - Jayne Frank-Kelly, SHI

AJ Wit, Mark Bradley, and Ryan Hardcastle delves into the powerful intersection of financial, environmental, and asset management. This episode reveals how integrating these practices can help organisations control costs, reduce their environmental footprint, and meet compliance and risk management objectives, creating a more efficient and sustainable approach to IT operations. "FinOps was the new kid on the block, but over time, both FinOps and ITAM have realised they’re tackling the same challenges from different angles" - Mark Bradley, Flexera

John Schwartzenberger from Flexera and Kelly Yip explores the complex reality of managing major software vendors in today’s IT landscape. Gain a clear understanding of why Tier 1 vendors are so difficult to control, how SaaS sprawl and shadow IT create hidden risks, and why entitlement data is often a critical blind spot. The episode also introduces the idea of a proactive onboarding framework - showing how consistent, strategic approaches can replace reactive management and bring order to the chaos of vendor relationships. "All the information is out there: training, best practices, maturity assessments—use them to become a stronger practitioner." - John Schwartzenberger

ITAM teams face new challenges in tracking AI software, managing dynamic licensing models, and controlling cloud costs. Without a clear strategy, organisations risk overspending, compliance issues, and a lack of visibility into AI-driven assets. Parpreet Singh from TMG joins us in this episode as we explore how ITAM teams can evolve to meet the demands of AI, including the impact of AI on software licensing/asset tracking and best practices for cost optimisation. "The future is moving toward context-based AI and away from general platforms pulling information from across the internet - and that’s the right direction" - Parpreet Singh

In this episode, we explore why strong relationship management is essential to successful ITAM. From driving collaboration to enabling meaningful change, we look at how building trust, improving communication, and fostering inclusivity can amplify the impact of your ITAM practice. You’ll hear practical ways to develop these soft skills, strengthen partnerships, and navigate today’s fast-moving business landscape with confidence.

Tune in as we unpack how IT Asset Disposition can be so much more than a necessary expense. In this episode, we share practical examples and market benchmarks that show how the right approach can cut costs, minimise waste, and even turn a profit. Hear how forward-thinking organisations are transforming their ITAD strategies — and get ideas you can put into action in your own. Want to know more? Well, why not watch our on-demand webinar. Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8qtY8p0CQpm3C1FQgCa8RA#/registration