Driving rapid SAM maturity and compliance savings through Certero.
Company profile
Name: NHS South West London ICB
Industry: Healthcare/ Public Sector
Region: UK
Clients: Serving residents across six London boroughs
Estate size: 6,000 devices/ 6,000 users
Products purchased: Certero ITAM, SAM, SaaS connectors for M365 & Adobe Creative Cloud. Hosted by Certero.
Challenges
Before partnering with Certero, NHS South West London ICB lacked clear visibility over its software assets. Manual tracking made it difficult to understand their licensing position, especially across Microsoft products. The complexity of managing multiple environments created compliance risks and inflated costs. Internal processes were slow and reactive, limiting progress towards a reliable software asset management (SAM) framework.
“Before Certero, we had limited visibility and control over our software assets. Our biggest challenge was understanding our licence compliance position, particularly with Microsoft.”
- Reece Emson, ITAM Asset/ PSL Manager, NHS South West London
The Certero Solution
We implemented Certero solutions for network discovery, ITAM, SAM and SaaS optimisation of Microsoft 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud. Hosted by Certero,he onboarding process was structured and collaborative, resolving data quality issues and normalising asset information across environments.
This approach produced an Effective Licence Position for Microsoft, clarifying compliance risks and enabling immediate action.
“Certero’s SAM managed service allowed us to significantly mature our licence posture at a fast pace, something that would have taken 3-4 years without their involvement.”
- Reece Emson, ITAM Asset/ PSL Manager, NHS South West London
Value beyond expectation
The NHS South West London team gained measurable value early in the process. The ELP revealed potential compliance exposures of roughly £100,000, which were fully mitigated through Certero’s data-led insights and expert guidance.
This avoided unnecessary costs and established a mature SAM foundation for ongoing management and governance.
“Through Certero’s support, we mitigated potential compliance costs of around £100k related to Microsoft licensing. Additionally we accelerated our SAM maturity by several years, which translates into significant operational and financial benefits.”
- Reece Emson, ITAM Asset/ PSL Manager, NHS South West London
Business Benefits
- Full visibility and control over software assets
- Rapid acceleration of SAM maturity, years ahead of schedule
- Avoidance of £100k in potential Microsoft compliance costs
- Automated, accurate reporting for informed decision-making
- Strengthened governance and reduced operational risk
- Ongoing partnership approach with expert SAM guidance
Summary
Certero enabled NHS South West London ICB to move from manual, fragmented asset management to a fully visible and compliant SAM environment. By leveraging Certero’s managed service and technology, the organisation accelerated its maturity by several years, reduced risk and achieved tangible financial savings within a collaborative, supportive partnership.
