If you’re an Express Metrix customer planning to upgrade to Windows 7, don’t forget that Express Software Manager has rich hardware and software asset management functionality that will help you plan, budget for, and manage your migration.  One principal area of focus for your pre-migration planning relates to determining which of your existing applications will work with the new OS, and whether your PCs have the capacity to support the upgrade.

From a hardware readiness standpoint, Express Software Manager can inventory all your PCs to determine their CPUs, amount of memory, disk space, and any other hardware attributes that may be important to your migration.  With this information, you can determine whether you need to upgrade your machines, free up space, or replace them altogether.  Here’s just one of Express Software Manager’s hardware inventory reports you may find useful for your upgrade planning (click the thumbnail to enlarge): (more…)

We’re always interested in hearing different ways our customers use Express Software Manager’s computer inventory and software metering reports to make their jobs easier. And believe me, over the last couple of years as budgets have been stretched thin, our end-users have been especially creative in identifying alternative uses.  The one we most commonly hear is to aid in the process of troubleshooting issues on remote PCs. While we certainly don’t claim to be a dedicated help desk tool, customers often provide access to Express Software Manager’s reports to their technical support staff.  Here are a couple of common issues our users are able to identify and tackle using Express Software Manager’s IT asset reporting.

Application Conflicts

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In one corner we have the “do-everything” enterprise asset management suite that competes based on its heavyweight status—dripping with functionality and desktop management features that accompany its software license management capabilities.  In the other corner we have the slender, agile point product that delivers swift punches with a narrower set of capabilities.  So who wins the match? 

I will start this post by saying that I’m biased. This blog exists to accomplish more than to satisfy my desire for celebrity and to impress my friends.  I work for a company that has spent 10+ years cultivating a software license management point product that meets a targeted set of customer needs. But still, I will try to be objective.                                                        

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With the start of a new year, I thought I’d provide a sneak preview of the kinds of enhancements you can expect to find in the 2010 release of our software and hardware asset management solution, Express Software Manager. We believe our current and prospective customers will be thrilled with Version 9.5, expected to ship in Q2 of this year.  Here’s what’s in the works:

Purchasing Module:  The introduction of a purchasing module is the primary focus of this release. For customers already using Express Software Manager, it will transform your ability to track and manage the countless details related to your hardware and software purchases, maintenance contracts, and leases. The module will have an independent Web interface that allows you to enter/import, organize, summarize, and filter on virtually any piece of purchasing data related to your IT assets. Stored data can then be reconciled with inventoried hardware devices and software applications.

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Any software vendor that’s been paying attention to its customers in recent months will tell you that software licensing preferences are changing–and quickly.  The past year, in particular, has brought about an appetite for more flexible licensing models that are less user-centric and more usage-centric.  As IT organizations continue to chisel away unnecessary spending and take a more strategic approach to software asset management, they’re increasingly demanding “pay-per-use” (i.e. usage-based licensing) and “pay as you go” (i.e. subscription-based licensing) scenarios that are more directly correlated with the benefits received through the use of any given application. And vendors are listening.  

According to a Computerworld article by Eric Lai, vendors are rapidly adjusting their license offerings to accommodate and take advantage of this shift. The article notes that 43% of vendors have changed or expanded their licensing options to include such approaches as usage-based and subscription-based pricing.  (Subscription pricing, which has long dominated the SaaS market, is now becoming commonplace among on-premise offerings). And, according to IDC, these trends are only expected to accelerate. 

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