From time to time, customers ask whether we have an API to import data into Express Software Manager from their enterprise purchasing systems.  Although it’s not something we promote directly on our web site (perhaps we should?), the answer is “yes.”  Our API provides for two-way data flow; you can pull data either from Express Software Manager for integration into an external purchasing system, or vice versa.  The API does not currently have connectors for specific purchasing systems, but with a little development expertise, you can have it up and running in no time. 

If you’re interested in knowing more about our API, please contact your account representative. 

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For those of you who may have noticed a lack of blog entries over the past month, we’ve been very busy working on some exciting product enhancements! Today we’re pleased to announce the official release of Express Software Manager for SCCM, a new asset management offering that enables IT staff to leverage their Microsoft SCCM implementations for more effective oversight of and management of their hardware and software investments.   

In recent months, we’ve been hearing from a lot of prospective customers that they want to take advantage of inventory data stored in their SCCM database for their software license management efforts.  This is often the situation at companies whose network teams don’t want to deploy another client and/or can’t secure authorization to invest in a dedicated asset management solution when certain data already exists within the SCCM that has the potential to be transformed into more useful IT asset reporting.

With Express Software Manager for SCCM, inventory data is imported from SCCM and processed using our own catalog of normalized application titles, allowing not only for superior software recognition, but also a distinctly license-centric view of the desktop and server environment.  The resulting normalized software titles, along with hardware data collected by the SCCM client, can be enriched with an organization’s own purchasing data and reconciled with inventoried assets for the purpose of managing license compliance, IT budgeting and reporting, chargeback purposes, and other functions that contribute to better fiscal management.

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Do you have SCCM implemented and wish you had a way to transform its software inventory data into intuitive, license-centric reports?  Would you consider spending 2-4 hours testing a new product that allows you to leverage your SCCM data for your software license management efforts?  If so, we’d love to hear from you.   

If you are selected as a tester and complete the necessary steps, we’ll send you $300! 

The criteria for participation are as follows:

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With the beginning of the new year, we are pleased to announce the release of Express Software Manager Version 9.6!

This release includes two primary new features:

• Inventory support for Mac OS. Express Software Manager now offers an inventory client for Mac OS machines. With the Express Mac Client, you can collect basic hardware and software inventory data. This represents a first step toward providing more comprehensive support for other platforms, and we will continue to enhance Mac functionality in future releases of Express Software Manager. View system requirements for the Mac inventory client.
• Automatic ESID Updates. With Express Software Manager Version 9.6, administrators can now configure the product to receive automatic updates to the Express Software Identification Database (ESID)®. To configure Express Software Manager for automatic ESID updates, simply follow these instructions:

1. Open the Express Administrative Console.
2. Click on Tools menu and select “Update Software Identification Database…”
3. Click on the “Automatic Update ESID” tab.
4. Check the “Install Updates Automatically” and choose your desired schedule.

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Happy New Year from all of us at Express Metrix!  We hope you had a terrific holiday. 

As I think about our blogging efforts in 2011, I’d like to address some of the suggestions we’ve received from customers to incorporate more product-centric content into our posts.  To that end, I’m happy to introduce a new blog series which will feature a different report found within Express Software Manager each month.  My hope is that it will be useful for our customers, both current and prospective, in extracting as much value as possible from the product to assist with their IT asset management efforts. 

So let’s dive right in.  We’ll start with one of our most critical reports relating to license compliance, entitled  “Am I Compliant”. 

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