March 2010
Licence Dashboard and the Microsoft Software Asset Management Programme can help your organisation achieve lean I.T.
Lean IT is all about maximising IT resources while minimising waste. A lean organisation is able to maintain and deliver high levels of service without losing control of its financial and legal responsibilities. With IT budgets being slashed, there has never been a better time for organisations to take control and manage their IT resources effectively.
GETTING STARTED
First things first, it is important that you identify which assets are spiralling out of control or which assets attribute the most on-going support costs. From our experience, this evaluation usually leads to one conclusion - software.
With software taking up an ever increasing share of an organisation's IT budget, it has become even more important to manage, control and protect your software assets. Having a greater understanding of your licence position and being able to track what software you have deployed can definitely help you avoid unnecessary expenditure. Implementing an effective Software Asset Management (SAM) programme can, therefore, reduce costs without necessarily reducing the number of desktop devices and servers required - thereby minimising the impact on value services.
Licence Dashboard™ & Microsoft
The basis of any good SAM programme is to keep accurate and up-to-date software licence information, together with processes for controlling and maintaining its accuracy. Having a comprehensive licence management tool to store this information is essential. Not only does this allow you to archive effectively but it also allows you to publish this information when required and clearly balance the equation between what you have installed and what you are allowed to install.
With Licence Dashboard™, used in conjunction with such as the Microsoft SAM Programme, you can effectively and automatically control the entire lifecycle of your software assets from purchase, to upgrade and beyond. With its easy-to-use interface, users such as SAM Managers, Licence Administrators, IT Managers and all other authorised members of staff can gain access to software inventory, licence inventory and purchasing information at anytime.
TAKE CONTROL, REDUCE COSTS
From a single view within Licence Dashboard, an Administrator can report exactly what your organisation is allowed to install, determine how many licences have been allocated, verify how many licences are still available and be alerted to any maintenance renewals which are due. This unique report enables you to manage day-to-day licensing chores without the user having to be a Licence Specialist. It also provides greater clarity - putting you in a better negotiating position and promoting more informed purchasing decisions.
Licence Dashboard's built-in licensing knowledge helps organisations control the complex behaviour of the licence evidence and automatically aggregates your licence entitlement, ensuring that all licence constraints and dependencies have been correctly adhered to. In addition, comprehensive audit trails are available illustrating the references between base licences, upgrades and maintenance renewals.
Utilising Licence Dashboard helps reduce operational costs by streamlining and controlling the software lifecycle. It also increases valuable IT resource availability and productivity. After establishing your licence entitlement, Licence Dashboard then goes on to determine your compliance position. To do this, the application directly interfaces into your existing IT asset inventory or discovery tool and cleanses the software usage.
Asset inventory tools are generally designed and implemented to assist in managing an organisation's technical attributes and not licence compliance per se. Most of these asset inventory tools are excellent at scanning the network for hardware and software information - manipulating this software information into a format that enables you to identify your licensable products, however, can become a nightmare.
Licence Dashboard's Data Cleanse module extends the software recognition process and then further distils the scanned software, highlighting the associated licence liability of all installed products. This type of transparency and control will not only prevent over deployment of software, but can also help reduce the overhead required to track and monitor its usage and liability.
Once compliance has been calculated, Licence Dashboard then allows the end user to publish a wealth of compliance and purchase history reports. These reports also include cost saving and cost avoidance statements such as the Microsoft Enterprise True Up Statement which uniquely allows you to control the complex true-up requirements of Microsoft.
KEEPING LEAN
Licence Dashboard's comprehensive functionality takes the complexity out of licensing and really allows an organisation to manage fully the software and licence entitlement lifecycle - thereby reducing operational risk and excessive spend.
So, with cost reduction order of the day, there has never been a better time to embark on that SAM programme you have been putting off for years and start realising the true benefits associated with effective management of your software assets.
As experienced by all the organisations we have been engaged with, you too could save hundreds of thousands of pounds without necessarily having to reduce your physical assets or workforce. In addition, the indirect savings - such as improved strategic infrastructure planning and reduced support costs - could also be significant and financially beneficial to all areas of your organisation.
FIND OUT MORE
For further information on how Licence Dashboard and the Microsoft SAM Programme can help you make your IT lean, contact Phoenix Software on 0845 265 1265 or email info@phoenixs.co.uk
