Express Software Manager® Version 9.6
We are currently shipping version 9.6 of Express Software Manager. This document summarizes the new features that shipped with version 9.5 (May 2010), 9.6 (November 2010), and the SCCM Connector (November 2011).
Maintained customers may upgrade to Version 9.6 at no cost.
Key Features
IT Purchasing System
Express Software Manager now includes a "purchasing module," a web-based interface that allows you to enter unlimited purchasing information for hardware and software assets, allocate purchases to end users and organization groups, and reconcile purchasing data with inventoried devices and applications.
The new purchasing module gives you the ability to:
- Enter or import purchasing details at the time of purchase or after deployment of new equipment or software.
- Reconcile purchasing data with deployed assets based on license units (for software) or at the next scheduled inventory (for hardware).
- Assign software and hardware purchases to individuals and/or machines; allocate purchases to organizational units or groups.
- Track both summary-level and detailed purchasing information; report on expenses by timeframe, vendor, assignments, and more.
- Track expiration details for leases, service agreements, software and hardware maintenance.
- Enable non-IT or administrative personnel to enter and track purchasing information using a straightforward and intuitive interface.
SCCM Integration
Express Software Manager can now be configured to accept inventory feeds from Microsoft Systems Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). This enables you to normalize raw inventory data collected with the SCCM client using the Express Software Identification Database (ESID), and generate reports within the Express Reports Console.
Virtualization Reporting
Express Software Manager now formally identifies virtualized machines and, for Microsoft virtualization environments, associates each virtual machine with its host. Virtual machines are indicated as such in the Administrative Console and in specific reports.
New Reports
Express Software Manager ships with a collection of new reports, many of which were generated from customer feedback. New reports will include enhanced summary level usage statistics, expenditure tracking, additional hardware reports, and a new filtering model that’s especially useful for migration planning.
Mac OS Inventory Support
Version 9.6 introduces inventory support for Mac OS-based systems.
Automatic Client Upgrade
The Express Client (Version 9.0 and above) can be configured to automatically upgrade itself to Version 9.6, eliminating time and overhead associated with new client deployment.
Automatic ESID Updates
Administrators can now configure the product to receive monthly ESID updates automatically. And, should you choose to continue to to this manually, the process has been simplified to a single button click.
