Maharashtras IT policy offers many incentives and facilities for the IT and IT-enabled services companies in the state,MV Bhagat,joint director of Industries,District Industries Center (DIC),Government of Maharashtra,said here recently. Addressing a seminar on Software Asset Management (SAM) jointly organised by Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) and Mahratta Chambers of Commerce,Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA),Bhagat emphasised on the importance of using licensed software as an asset. Assets become liabilities if adequate attention is not given to their management, he added. Lizum Mishra,director,BSA (India) operations,pointed out that Software Asset Management (SAM) is a key enabler for higher productivity and business growth. SAM is an ISO standard for measuring policies and procedures of companies for IT assets. Business Software Alliance headquartered in Washington DC,USA has 140 countries as its members. SAM involves people,processes and technology and needs to be factored into the business cycle,Mishra said while addressing the delegates Dr Vaijayanti Pandit,director,FICCI-WRC,gave an overview of the Progressive Maharashtra Project which is PPP between FICCI and the Government of Maharashtra to build sustainable competitive advantage. Anant Sardeshmukh,Additional Director General,MCCIA,said a state-of-the-art Industrial Convention Centre and Industrial Trade Centre that can accommodate 2,500 delegates is coming up in Pune. The seminar was addressed by experts from Ernst & Young,KPMG and Symantec among others in the technical sessions.