Earlier this week, Kris blogged about analyst predictions for stronger growth in technology spending for 2010.  Among the areas expected to drive the growth are new hardware purchases (fueled in part by migrations to Microsoft Windows 7), continued adoption of virtualization technologies, and pent-up demand for PCs created during capital budget freezes of 2008 and 2009.  Given the anticipated increase in IT investment levels, I thought it might be interesting (and helpful) to take a look at how the upcoming release of Express Software Manager 9.5 can help your organization as your IT budget starts to show signs of life:   

• Migration Planning Reports:  If you expect to migrate to Microsoft Windows 7, you’ll be able to take advantage of Express Software Manager’s new “Express Query Builder,” which will allow you to specify certain machine configurations or attributes to target your planning efforts.  For example, you can run a report to see all the machines running Windows XP whose RAM is less than 2GB. 
• IT Purchase Tracking System:  With Express Software Manager’s brand new purchasing interface, you’ll be able to track and manage the entire lifecycle of your hardware and software assets, from purchase through retirement.  You’ll be able to enter or import unlimited purchasing details at any time, before or after assets are deployed; easily assign and allocate assets to users and organization groups; reconcile purchasing details with inventoried assets, keep track of contract expiration dates; and run summary-level and detailed reports on your IT purchases.  
• Enhanced Support for Virtual Environments:  If you plan to roll out more virtualization technology in 2010, you’ll be happy to hear that Express Software Manager has enhanced its support for virtual machines. In addition to Express Software Manager’s existing ability to inventory virtual workstations and server OSs and track and control the launch of applications launched within virtual software environments, you will now be able to identify and display the relationship between a host OS and guest OS in Microsoft environments.  
• New Software Usage Reports: Express Software Manager has always offered powerful software usage reporting to help you identify areas where your organization is over-licensed and spending too much.  With Version 9.5, Express Software Manager will offer new software usage reports your boss will love, showing where money can be saved by renegotiating your 2010 license agreements—and ensure any subsequent software purchases are being put to good use. 

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We all know that relying too heavily on technology can be perilous.  And while most IT pros recognize that software asset management tools in and of themselves don’t represent a “silver bullet” for managing one’s license position, they generally have a long way to go toward establishing, communicating, and enforcing the SAM processes necessary to address the gaps inherent in any technology.  What may surprise you is that even if you believe you have effective SAM processes in place, you’re still not necessarily in the clear.

Let’s assume you’ve finally got all your ducks in a row: You’ve consolidated all your historical license information, established procedures by which new software purchases and entitlement details are thoroughly documented, developed a sound software usage policy, and configured your SAM tool to reconcile all that licensing information with installed software. You feel confident, and you’re ready to tell your boss that your new SAM program is officially “up and running.” 

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In the IT world, we tend to view end users as an occupational hazard—a perilous yet inescapable part of our jobs.  After all, it seems employees will install just about any application they can get their hands on without regard for the potential licensing implications, compatibility issues, security holes, or bandwidth consumption.  But who can blame them?  They’re trying to do their jobs just like we all are, but without the benefit (or curse) of understanding the potential implications of their actions.

What we rarely acknowledge is that the onus is on IT leaders to ensure workers have the information they need—and are held accountable—to make good decisions. It all begins with a clearly articulated and effectively communicated software usage policy that educates end users about the importance of complying with a set of basic standards. Such a policy shouldn’t be long and infused with technical mumbo jumbo.  In fact, the shorter and more straightforward the guidelines, the greater likelihood it will be read, understood, and, most importantly, adhered to.  Not only can a properly developed software usage policy serve to curb risky behavior, but it will also generate goodwill among software publishers when and if they decide to audit you.  If a vendor sees your organization making a conscientious effort to prevent the use of unlicensed software, they’re more likely to treat you as a partner rather than a criminal throughout the software audit process.

The nature of your software usage policy will (and should) depend on your organization’s size, geographic dispersion, and diversity of your software estate, as well as the sophistication of your end users and their technology needs.  If you run the IT department of a small community college, for example, you may wish to prohibit anyone but the IT staff from purchasing or installing software on school-maintained systems. On the other hand, if you work for a technology company with software developers that rely on a variety of commercial and open source solutions to do their jobs, you may need to build more latitude into your usage policy. 

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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…)

This post is part 3 of 4 of a series of articles addressing many of the common misconceptions associated with agent-based asset management solutions.  The four parts in this series are:

1. Intro: The Great Debate
2. Agent Deployment
3. Data Collection
4. Network and End-User Impact

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