Software

Companies Look to Take Control of Software Management

IT managers say asset management tools help them automate the business.

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Steve Zurier is a freelance technology writer based in Columbia, Md.

Award-winning Denver area law firm Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine wants to keep growing. In order to do so, it needs to find more effective ways of managing software.

As part of a migration to a Windows Active Directory environment, CIO Steve Tucker says the firm purchased Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager asset management software. “We’re not looking at SCCM just to deploy software images,” he says. “We want it to manage all the patches and upgrades and keep track of all our licenses.”

Tucker says SCCM also integrates well with the firm’s VMware Horizon View VDI environment for 140 users. “When we deploy new machines, all the software apps are dynamically allocated and accounted for within SCCM,” Tucker explains.

8.8%

The percentage of organizations in the optimized stage of software license management, which links the asset management solution and information such as IT service and financial management, purchasing and capacity planning

SOURCE: IDC, “IDC MaturityScape Benchmark: Software License Optimization,” June 2015

Amy Konary, a research vice president at IDC, says that businesses also use asset management tools so they can be more proactive.

“Organizations should not be looking to just avoid an audit, but also to obtain information on usage and license status that can be used to support future software purchases and negotiations,” Konary says.

Mark Schwartz, CIO for the BlumShapiro consulting firm in West Hartford, Conn., says the company’s help desk tool has an asset management capability, but it hasn’t enabled that feature yet.

In the coming year, Schwartz says the company wants to start managing its hardware more efficiently; software management would naturally follow.

“We definitely want to track license management to make sure we are in compliance, plus we want to be sure that people are actually using the software for what they say they are using it for,” Schwartz adds.

4 Asset Management Software Tips

Amy Konary, a research vice president for IDC, offers four considerations for moving forward with asset management software.

1. Assess the Organization: Figure out how much of the software the organization needs to focus on and why. Most organizations tend to start with the top 10 percent or 20 percent of their software spend.

2. Build or Buy: Organizations with hundreds of users will want to look at products such as Flexera, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager or Symantec Altiris. Organizations should consider building a custom system only if they have proprietary business applications and a reliable development team.

3. Look for Integration Features: Most organizations are better off selecting tools that the software community recognizes. Mainstream products have generally worked out integration arrangements with major software makers such as Adobe, Apple and Microsoft, for example.

4. Clarify the Terms: Before going live with an asset management system, make sure all parties are on the same page as to the terms of the licenses. Traditionally, software was licensed over three years, but now cloud subscriptions are offered on a weekly, monthly or annual basis. As software usage patterns change, everyone in the organization needs to stay informed.

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