Companies who don’t use automated tools to manage hardware and software inventory are likely to face significant challenges. For a variety of reasons, they will struggle to effectively monitor the various components within their infrastructure, and maximize the value of IT assets throughout their lifecycle.

A Dynamic Business Landscape

Today’s organizations are undergoing rapid change – mergers and acquisitions, expansions or downsizing, etc. Each one of these changes has an impact on IT inventory, making hardware and software asset management somewhat of a “moving target”. For example, new employees will require new equipment, while a layoff will make PCs, software licenses, and IT other assets available for use by others. Opening a new branch may call for the purchase of new hardware, while a shift in business strategy may require new applications to be acquired and deployed. This type of dynamic, ever-changing environment makes tracking IT inventory a challenge.

A Geographically-Dispersed Network

Long, long ago, companies operated out of a single location. If they wanted to know what IT assets they had, and where they were located, they simply walked around and took stock. However, today’s firms do business on a global scale, with branches, offices, and even remote or home-based employees performing work out of numerous locations spread across the world. With IT assets housed at so many different locations, it becomes harder to manually monitor changes or additions in the environment, such as when an employee installs software on a PC, or when a new peripheral like a scanner or printer is connected to a network. As a result, IT asset inventory logs can quickly become outdated.

Constant Asset Upgrades or Replacement

Technology innovations emerge at a sharp pace, as new and better software and hardware solutions are being introduced by vendors all the time. And, while technology budgets are stagnant or shrinking in today’s tough economic times, companies still invest in the latest and greatest solutions to help them maintain an edge. The acquisition of new hardware, software, or subscription-based technology services means more than just a new physical asset to track – there are financial assets to consider, like contracts and software licenses.

Only comprehensive, fully automated IT asset management solutions can help organizations keep their technology inventory up-to-date and balanced at all times, even in the face of rapidly-changing architectures and business conditions. With IT asset management systems, businesses can achieve complete, real-time visibility across their entire technology landscape, knowing exactly what they have, where it is located, and how it is being used at all times.

Learn more about powerful, on-demand IT asset management solutions from SAManage, and how they can help you can avoid the pain of manually managing your IT assets

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We’ve added:

Unauthorized Software alerts

SAManage has always used a global dictionary to identify the presence of unauthorized software across your company’s network.  As inventory is checked, the system performs in-depth analysis, comparing the software being used against a list of unauthorized applications.  If there is a match, a new risk alert will be triggered.

Now, you can expand your list of unauthorized software. Want to know the next time a user installs Skype? Simply add Skype to your list of greynet software, and you’ll receive an alert each time Skype is discovered in your software inventory. This will make it easier for you to stay on top of your approved software stack, and to more effectively implement and enforce a software usage policy.

Duplicate Computers

Dealing with duplicate computers is one of the obstacles you may face when maintaining accurate IT asset inventory. This is caused by the dynamic nature of IT systems.  For example, existing hardware is re-provisioned for new employees, operating systems get reinstalled on the same computer, and virtualization technologies enable the launch of multiple virtual instances of the same computer (this topic will be addressed in a separate post).

From an IT asset management perspective, these components must be recognized as the same.  In order for your inventory to be tracked as precisely as possible, the “old asset” must first be removed from your inventory log, before the new asset is accounted for.

SAManage will now add a new alert to your risks module, notifying you when duplicate computers exist in your inventory.  You will then be required to take action, and will be asked to mark the duplicate one, so a single, accurate log of your assets can be maintained.

Computers That Are Not Reporting

In order to most effectively manage your inventory of IT assets, you must ensure that all components are present and accounted for.  Therefore, all assets must be reporting back to SAManage on a regular basis.

Now, SAManage can alert you when specific assets do not report for a pre-defined period of time, so you can immediately take action to locate it and determine its status. Maybe it has been stolen and needs to be reclaimed?  Perhaps it is no longer being utilized, and can now be reassigned to another user?

When a new alert is added, click on the link to the computer to see the details from last time it reported.

Learn more about SAManage IT Management on-demand service or sign up for a free 30-days trial today!

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Memory Slots

Memory information can help you keep track of how much memory is available, versus how much is in use on each computer.  It can also help you determine if there are any available (free) storage slots that can be used to add more memory to that PC. To view the information, simply click on the computer details, and navigate to the Hardware tab.

Memory slots available on a computer

Storage Adapters

In addition to the disk and drive information already available under the Hardware tab, SAManage will now display the logical drives for a computer, allowing you to view the PC’s physical storage adapters.

Storage adapters on a computer

Disks and Drive letters on a computer

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What are some of the best ways to reduce hidden software costs?

Eliminate Extra Licenses
Gartner believes that US businesses overbuy licenses for 60 percent of their software portfolio. This creates hidden software costs in the form of excess vendor fees, as well as unnecessary property taxes. By using a software asset management system to better organize software licenses and IT contracts, companies can more precisely identify and discard extra licenses, saving as much as two percent of their annual operating budget.

Remove Unused Application Modules
During the software sales cycle, many vendors have a way of talking buyers into purchasing modules they don’t need, or bundles that include components that really aren’t necessary. Additionally, many companies continue to maintain software that, although valuable at one time, is no longer required by end users.

With an IT asset management solution in place, organizations can readily identify which applications are being used, and more importantly, which ones aren’t. By getting rid of those that are sitting idle, companies can avoid paying for maintenance – or even for the solution itself – by canceling in advance of an invoice. Gartner estimates that, by doing so, firms can reduce their annual technology operating budgets by as much as one percent.

Improve the Accuracy of Software Depreciation
Incorrect depreciation processes are a leading cause of hidden software costs. When organizations overvalue their software, they lose valuable tax write-offs. With a software asset management solution in place, businesses can improve the accuracy of software valuation, which – according to Gartner – can yield a one-time reduction of up to 10 to 20 percent of depreciable software assets.

Stop Unnecessary Software Acquisition
Companies often waste money on software they simply don’t need. A request comes in from an end user, and a new package is purchased – even though there is already a similar solution, perhaps with available licenses, in house. By using an automated tool to maintain an up-to-date inventory of all software assets, companies can stay fully aware of what they already own at all times. This can reduce hidden software costs by avoiding unnecessary software acquisitions.

Minimize “Renegade” Purchasing
By helping companies create, define, and enforce formal IT purchasing procedures, IT asset management solutions can put the proper controls in place to prevent unauthorized buyers from acquiring software without adherence to corporate policies and budgets.

Find out how you can eliminate hidden software costs at your company. Learn more about powerful, SaaS IT asset management solutions today.

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The laws surrounding software licensing are clear – each and every license agreement allows for a specified number of concurrent users, named users, CPUs, etc. Anything above and beyond those outlined specifications is considered non-compliance. And, any lack of software license compliance uncovered during a software audit will result in stiff financial penalties.

Software license management solutions can help companies ensure adherence to licensing agreements by allowing them to track software allocation and installation, and compare it their purchase contracts. With these innovative, feature-rich systems, software license compliance is made easy through unhindered visibility into all software-related activities across the enterprise.

With or without a software license management system in place, your organization will need to be prepared to prove software compliance if and when you are subject to a software audit. Some tips to follow:

1. If you receive a letter indicating that you are under investigation, cooperate fully. Your cooperation could garner leniency from the vendor’s legal representation if you are found to be non-compliant.
2. Compile all documentation required to prove software compliance. For example, you may be asked to provide dated purchase receipts, packing slips, invoices, copies of license agreements, software documentation, and the original CDs shipped to you by the vendor.
3. Be prepared to make your IT resources available to auditors, as a software audit can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the complexity of your environment, and will require assistance from internal staff.
4. It may also be wise to call in a consultant, attorney, or other professional who specializes in software compliance issues.  There are many legal implications that can arise when a software audit takes place, and you’ll need to make sure risks and problems are dealt with correctly.  So its best to have an expert on your side from the start.

But perhaps the best tactic to take when it comes to software compliance is to avoid any surprises that may come up if an external software audit takes place, by performing your own internal audits on a regularly scheduled basis. Software asset management solutions from SAManage streamline and automate all software audit-related processes, allowing your staff to efficiently perform frequent checks, to ensure full adherence to licensing agreements at all times.

Visit the SAManage web site for more information about software license management and other SaaS IT asset management solutions, and how they can assist your organization in ensuring compliance in the event of a software audit.

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For years, hosting providers have been successfully delivering a wide array of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, including email, website hosting, customer relationship management (CRM), and more. These providers have played an important role in the SaaS revolution, helping to fuel rapid market growth by making the many benefits of service-based software delivery accessible to companies of all types and sizes.

Now, hosting companies can easily extend their suite of offerings to include IT Asset Management applications. By making SaaS-based IT Asset Management available, these firms can provide subscribers with a more convenient and affordable way to:

• Enhance visibility into all components within their technology environment
• Track assets and related activities from the time they are purchased, until they are replaced
• Reduce IT acquisition and administration costs
• Eliminate infrastructure risks, such as viruses and security breaches
• Ensure compliance with software licensing contracts
• Increase the productivity of both IT staff and end users

The SaaS approach to IT asset management provides significant benefits to companies, allowing them to leverage existing relationships with hosted service providers, while utilizing the latest and greatest technologies. At the same time, they can acquire software in a more economical manner, and avoid the hassles of solution deployment and maintenance typically associated with on-site systems.

Any hosting company that serves IT departments and their staff, and is looking to expand their presence in the SaaS market – or gain entry into it for the first time – can derive significant advantages by offering IT Asset Management solutions:

• Extend portfolios with new, innovative applications that deliver tangible, measurable value to subscribers
• Differentiate themselves in a highly competitive industry – and boost market share and revenues
• Offer comprehensive IT Asset Management as a stand-alone application, or incorporate powerful IT Asset Management capabilities into other services

For more information about IT Asset Management solutions, or to learn more the recently announced Hosting Provider Partner Program, visit www.samanage.com/partners.

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To use the new feature, navigate to the Risks section and browse the list of active risks across your network. You’ll notice a new action for “Send Email” next to each active risk:

IT Risks detected by SAManage

When clicking on the “Send Email” action, a new window shows with a default message. There are a number of canned messages to fit each risk category and request a different action to resolve different risks:

Send email requesting attention on a new risk

When the asset already has a user associated with it, the user’s email address will appear in the To: field. Make any necessary changes to the email’s subject or body and click send to have the email alert sent to the user.

When an email is sent to the user, a new ticket is created in your Help Desk to remind you to verify the user took the requested action and the risk was resolved. Not resolved yet? you can send the user a reminder to take the necessary action. As the risk is resolved, SAManage marks the risk as resolved and removes it from your active risks list.

Make it a habit to periodically review your active risks and alert your users to resolve them!

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SEATTLE, WA, June 17, 2009 — SAManage, a leading provider of on-demand IT management software, today announced the launch of a new partner program for hosting service providers. The new program enables providers of hosting services to offer their customers the benefits of an on-demand IT Management solution. By bundling SAManage with their existing services, hosting providers can provide their customers with a more complete solution for their IT service needs.

The new program is especially attractive to the many companies and IT departments that have existing relationships with a hosting provider. These companies can now gain the benefits of an on-demand IT management service delivered by a trusted provider, avoiding the overhead of establishing new vendor relationships.

“SaaS represents a large and growing opportunity for hosting providers that are looking to extend their services, deliver broader solutions, and create new business in the current economy,” said SAManage board member, Kurt Daniel. “By offering the SAManage solution, hosting providers can differentiate themselves in the market, reach new customers, and capture higher margin revenues.”

The SAManage on-demand IT Management service makes it easy for companies of all sizes to track hardware and software inventory, detect risks and compliance gaps, and improve service levels. Using the service, companies are able to:

• Reduce IT costs by accurately tracking existing inventory to ensure budgets and assets are correctly utilized
• Improve productivity and IT security by detecting unauthorized software and unprotected assets
• Minimize the legal risk of noncompliance with software licensing agreements
• Enhance service levels to users with integrated help desk capabilities

Delivered in a SaaS model, the SAManage solution can be implemented in minutes with no hardware or software to install, manage, or upgrade. Service costs are easy to budget for, with no up front license outlays and no long term contracts. SAManage offers a free trial period that enables companies to use the service in fully operational mode prior to subscribing.

Program members gain access to pre and post-sales support, marketing collateral, joint PR opportunities and more.

Program Availability

The program is available immediately to qualified partners. Hosting providers can sign up to join the program with no up front fees at www.samanage.com/partners/hosting-providers.

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When hazards like these present themselves, the results can be disastrous. So, more and more companies are relying on IT asset management solutions to keep their networks protected.

The ability to proactively avoid these, and other network threats is crucial to both business performance, and the preservation of financial integrity. For example, the fines that software vendors impose for failure to ensure IT compliance can be staggering. And, the loss of information and decreased productivity caused by the existence of spyware, malware, unauthorized applications, viruses, and other IT risks often translate directly into lower revenues and declining profits.

Additionally, renowned analyst firm Gartner believes that, because IT has become increasingly central to business processes, and the smooth functioning of IT networks is vital to company performance, IT risk management should be viewed as a mission-critical business initiative, not just an IT effort.

IT asset management service from SAManage provide a highly effective way to instantly detect potential IT risks. With the right technologies in place, they can be corrected, or even avoided, before they create major problems for your business. Solutions from SAManage make it easy for you to proactively detect risks to your computers and other assets by providing you with complete visibility into all components within your architecture. You can see what assets you have, where they reside, who is using them, how they are configured, and more – in real-time. So you can identify IT risks the moment they emerge, and implement the needed steps to protect yourself against them.

Learn more about IT asset management systems from SAManage, and how they can help you ensure software license compliance and prevent risks to your network.

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Working with End Users

Adding New End Users

A new user account, complete with contact information and associated assets, will automatically be created in your help desk system the first time an end user submits a support ticket. This new account will have a specific role – help desk requester – that will allow the user only to submit tickets or to access the support portal. Help desk requesters will not be able to access or utilize others features and functions of your help desk software.

Opening and Tracking End User Requests

All support requests received from your end users will appear as new tickets in your help desk system. When creating support requests, users will be required to include their email address. This address will then be used to provide status updates until the issue is resolved.

Communicating with End Users

Your new help desk system will automatically notify the end user when any changes or updates are made to his/her support request. For example, the end user will receive an email notification when his/her ticket is assigned to a help desk technician, when a status or priority change is made to the ticket, or when the issue is resolved and closed.

Help desk technicians can also communicate with end users by adding comments to the ticket. These comments are captured and stored along with the ticket, so that complete history of the incident is available if needed. The end user will receive an email notification when a comment is added to his/her ticket, and he can respond to the comment if required. End user responses will also be linked to the ticket and stored in the system.

Help Desk Software Ticket Comments

Using the Support Portal to View Tickets Status

When an end user creates a new support ticket, the notification email they receive will include a URL that will direct them to the online support portal. From here, they can log in and view the status of their ticket(s) at any time. They can also make changes to open incidents, or leave comments or notes for help desk technicians.

Through this portal, users can track their issues in real-time, on their own, without assistance from support staff. This leaves the help desk team free to focus on more important tasks related to investigating and resolving critical issues. It also provides for an effective and convenient way for users to communicate and share information with their support technicians.

Help Desk Software Email Notification

Managing Your End Users

To view a list of all current end users, go to your Setup screen, and then click on Users. You can make immediate changes to user information from this area. For example, you can update a phone number or add the end user’s full name. You can also grant access to other services and features within the SAManage help desk software.

We recommend that you periodically review your account’s list of help desk requesters, to ensure that all information is correct and up-to-date.

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