About The Federation against Software Theft & Investors in Software

One Voice for The Industry

The Federation Against Software Theft and Investors in Software (IiS), two of the most respected independent names in the UK software industry, have joined forces to strengthen and clarify the advice given to the end user community relating to best practice for Software Asset Management (SAM) and achieving cost efficient licence compliance.

In bringing the two organisations together the market will benefit from a single organisation able to balance the often-polar positions of reducing licensing costs and mitigating compliance risks within the context of Software Licence Management (SLM). FAST and IiS share common goals and complement each other’s strengths and capabilities. The collaboration enables a holistic approach to SAM & SLM best practice and the protection of software publishers’ rights.

The entity, under the auspices and management of The Federation, will keep both the well-known brands of FAST and IiS to respectively maintain focus on their core propositions. The FAST brand will continue to strenuously lobby government for a robust, effective and efficient IP regime in the UK and protect the IP rights of its members as appropriate. The IiS brand will remain focussed on driving best practice and consistent standards to advance the professionalism in SAM.

The Federation recently announced the Software Industry Research Board (SIRB) which is a group of the most influential organisations in the IT industry today who have come together to research common issues around SAM, Software Licence Management, Compliance and emerging technologies. The SIRB will now reside under the broader remit of the IiS brand.

FAST IiS now brings an extended breadth of services to the industry, below are just some of the examples:-

• Driving the adoption of best practice for SAM by working with software vendors, standards organisations and regulatory bodies to simplify and align where practical the industry’s approach to identifying, distributing and licensing software.
• Encouraging and assisting the adoption of SAM best practices by end users through impartial and informed advice, education and knowledge sharing.
• Making available, or advising upon, tools, processes and practitioners that can assist end users in their pursuit of SAM best practice and enable consistency within the SAM practitioner community.
• Providing guidance on the software licensing legal framework to ensure end users understand their rights and responsibilities.
• Lobbying to maintain the robust IP legal framework that underpins the software industry.
• Educating end users e.g. via annual research conducted through the FAST IiS Software Industry Research Board (SIRB).
• Appropriately enforcing members’ rights where software misuse is blatant and flagrant.
• Thought leadership forums in association with other industry bodies, to explore new innovations that impact the software industry i.e. virtualisation SaaS and Opensource.
• Championing consistent standards, best practice and simplified messaging worldwide.
• Training for SAM practitioners, resellers and the end user community.