It’s been a stressful time, but an exciting one for us here at Miro. We are officially moved into our new office at 167 Main Street in Woodbridge. The space is double the size of our old Fords location! This new space and where Miro is today reminds me of our meager beginnings. Back in 2003 when Miro was about 3 years old, a move from our most modest NYC office entailed loading up Eliot’s SUV with two computers (no laptops then), an IBM printer (still operating in my office, thank you), three boxes and our coats.

It’s been an incredible journey and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

Last week, Microsoft announced two new enterprise licensing bundles - expected to be released October 1 - that could save money for loyal Microsoft customers. The two new plans - Enrollment for Application Platform and Enrollment for Core Infrastructure were created based on customer feedback, according to a Q&A with Joe Matz, corporate vice-president for worldwide licensing and pricing at Microsoft.

The Enrollment for Application Platform offers a server software suite (SQL Server database, BizTalk Server, Office SharePoint Server, Visual Studio development software and Dynamics CRM). This can be purchased through a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA) and is aimed at medium-sized businesses, reducing costs previously introduced Application Platform Agreement by up to 40%.

The Enrollment for Core Infrastructure bundles Windows Server, System Center management software and Forefront Client Security software. This simplifies licensing for those in need of these titles by allowing you to license on a per-processor basis instead of using a combination of licensing models to accomplish compliance.

Wow. This wasn’t expected. On the anniversary of the moon landing in 1969, NASA officials stated that they “couldn’t find” the original footage of the lunar walk because it was likely taped over for another mission. They just released new restored footage of the moon walk based on the original broadcast. No explanation as to why no one recognized the first walk on the moon as something that should be saved! To cut costs, the Apollo 11 landing was taped over, but is now costing NASA over $200,000 to restore the broadcast footage.

Sometimes cutting corners isn’t always the best plan. What a huge oversight!

Recently, I was catching up on my reading and came across CIO Magazine’s Thomas Wailgum hilarious First Annual Enterprise Software Awards spoof. A smackdown of the enterprise software vendors accepting awards for bad customer service, bad marketing and SaaS versus traditional software modults.

Read Wailgum’s satirical blog post. First Annual Enterprise Software Awards: Mediocrity, Meltdowns and More.

Naturally, there are cost benefits to buying fewer licenses when re-negotiating a contract. The question is - how do you weigh the cost benefits against the risk of having too few or even being out of compliance because you are using your licenses improperly? Having an accurate account of business need is essential in reducing risk associating with contract negotiation and estimated licensing usage. The benefits of having a clear understanding of your licensing needs outweigh the cost of defining the usage. Not only will a vendor be more willing to negotiate, but they will also be less likely to audit you, knowing that you are on top of the situation ahead of time.

Having an automated discovery tool will benefit a business of any size. The ability to run the discovery tool at your leisure will help you remain compliant and, should you be threatened with an audit, provide up to date information to halt the process in its tracks. There is no downside to keeping track of your software assets and licensing usage. It’s a small price to pay for a big payout - not only will it reduce your licensing and maintenance fees, but it will also put you in a better position for negotiations and audits. However, there are many nuances to software terms and conditions that would not necessarily make it into the automated system or someone has to remember to (re)place a change of rules in the automated SAM. A prime example is the increase to the IBM Power 6 change in Oracle’s count for multi-core licensing. IBM Power 6 multi-core is equal to 1.0 per processor, while older versions are counted as .75 per processor. Someone needs to remember to make a note of a change like that within the SAM rules AND they need to remember to distinguish between the fairly new IBM Power6 and older versions (as the licensing rule is different). Otherwise, the information the SAM solution provides will not be inaccurate and increases risk during a vendor audit.

Enjoy! Sometimes we just have to laugh at the ridiculous.

Most companies are under the impression that a software asset management (SAM) project is something to do only when times are good, revenues are strong, and there is “room” for an additional project under the IT budget. The funny thing is, in times of economic depression, implementing a SAM system can save you tons, and free up budget for other things. Not only will effective SAM programs decrease the amounts you are paying in new licensing and maintenance fees, but it effectively lowers the total cost of ownership of IT from unnecessary equipment to telecom bills. Depending on how much your annual spend is, we could be talking millions of dollars in savings by simply putting in some legwork and “organizing” assets. However, let me say that SAM is more than just counting users.  If it were that simple, companies wouldn’t be fined hundreds of thousands or millions for compliance issues and IT wouldn’t get stumped and spend hundreds of hours working on SAM issues.

Once a proper SAM program is in place, negotiations are also more efficient as you are better prepared for your future business needs. Everyone is always looking to save a buck so why not get on the SAM bandwagon? In these uncertain times, rein in your assets and get back some of your revenue!

Software asset management (SAM) doesn’t have to be a daunting process. It can be very simple and rewarding if implemented properly. Here are six necessary steps to a successful SAM program (tongue twister eh?):

1.     Know and understand your SLAs for all your software vendors (not all licensing agreements are created  equal), the terms and conditions, and if you have questions, ask your rep or a consultant to explain them to you. Now this seems basic and it should be, but I would be remiss not to mention it here as the first step.

2.     Take an inventory of all of your IT assets - software and hardware. With Oracle entering the hardware business, companies need to be aware that this may be of significance to future ITAM. Keep track of what is currently in use, who has access to it and where it is being used. Is it being access remotely? How many employees are using it at the same time? While this sounds simple enough, take step 2 and tie it back into step 1.

3.    Compare and Contrast your inventory to the most up-to-date software purchasing records to determine whether or not you have assets that are out of compliance. This should also be checked against employee usage - perhaps more than one employee is using the same licensing which does not comply with your SLA on that program.

4.     Fix the problems  once you know what the problem is, uninstall software that is not compliant,  buy additional licenses and re-negotiate your contract(s). You must plan for the needs of the business over the next 12-18 months to determine whether or not additional licenses will be needed in the near term.

5.     Further planning is needed now that you have a clean slate and have fixed compliance issues. Now is the time to implement a plan for the future, which may include developing a repository for assets, purchasing SAM software with an automated discovery tool, or bringing in outside help. It is always a good idea to assign a group of internal managers to oversee the process and of course, get buy-in from the management team (which can be done by showcasing cost savings associated with a proper SAM program). You will also need to develop and market a new set of policies and procedures across your organization that will keep employees from misusing licenses.

6.    Keep it up! After a plan is in place; policies and procedures have been created and communicated; and licensing is up to date, the last step is maintaining the SAM program. Remember to: