Author Archive for Debra Brandt

Debra is the Director of Marketing for Express Metrix, having joined the company in 2005. She developed and oversees the Express Metrix corporate blog.

Express Software Manager Named 2010 CODiE Award Finalist

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Great news…  Express Software Manager has once again been chosen by the Software and Information Industry (SIIA) as a 2010 CODiE Award Finalist in the Best Asset Management Solution category. The SIIA CODiE Awards have been the leading honor among software products and services worldwide since 1985; the Best Asset Management Solution category was introduced in 2005.  Express Metrix has been a finalist every year since the category was added, and having won the CODiE award in 2008, we’re excited to have once again made the short list.

Joining us as finalists are BDNA’s Insight and Sassafrass Software’s K2. The judging criteria are: (more…)

Join Express Metrix on LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter

Express Metrix now has profiles in LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Connect with us via your favorite web app(s) to stay current on company and product news, technical advice, and industry developments related to IT asset management.  You can also ask questions, post discussions, and submit feedback about our products and services.  Join us by clicking on the icons below!   

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Software License Management — Your Patriotic Duty?

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[Warning: Those who know me know that I’m somewhat prone to hyperbole; this post is no exception.]

I woke up this morning feeling something like Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day.” On NPR: yet more bad economic news from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Despite forecasts predicting a December turnaround in the employment market, the economy actually shed another 85,000 jobs. Seriously? Again?

You may recall in the economic downturn of 2001, George Bush famously pleaded for consumers to “go shopping” as a patriotic duty that would help lift the nation out of recession. Well, if, like me, you’re not inclined to go spend your recently decimated nest egg, given the tepid “jobless recovery” that seems to be underway.  But maybe you’re more inclined to spend a little of your company’s money as a patriotic act of economic stimulus known as “software license management.”

Still with me?  If so, hear me out:

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Corporate Software Piracy – Is There An Elephant In The Room?

Happy New Year!

If you’re anything like me, the first weeks of January usually involve a Herculean effort to work off the extra pounds you packed on as a result of all the holiday excess.  But this task is dwarfed in comparison to the effort your company may face as a result of the past decade’s technology excesses:  blind overpurchasing of applications, lax software usage policies, unfettered adoption of new enterprise and consumer technologies, and a pervasive “Wild West” attitude toward responsible licensing practices.  All these have led to a glut of shelfware, institutionalized overspending, and unprecedented software piracy risk among many organizations–leaving IT departments with a colossal mess to clean up.

Related to all this, I thought I’d post a timely and well-written article about the ever-evolving pitfalls related to software licensing, written by Dan Tynan of InfoWorld. The column is a good primer on software license management, especially for those looking to get a handle on their license position. (Our own Kris Barker was tapped by Dan to lend his expertise about driving down application and support costs by metering software usage, along with navigating the licensing landmines associated with virtualized systems and software.)

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Software Audits According to Dilbert

I saw this on Miro Consulting’s blog and couldn’t resist re-posting it.  Look familiar?