News
Subscription Service Adds License Management
- By Stuart J. Johnston
- August 23, 2005
AssetMetrix has added software license management to the list of services it provides through its subscription-based asset management service for IT.
The License Management Module is a new addition to the Ottawa, Ontario-based company's service that gives IT and procurement managers the ability to import records of software license purchases and compare them to software applications that have already been discovered and categorized by the AssetMetrix service.
The firm’s subscription service provides IT customers with information for use in software license management, security and vulnerability assessments, IT migration planning, PC lifecycle management, cost and budget projections, internal policy verification, inventory audits and service level agreement tracking
According to AssetMetrix, the License Management Module provides a ledger of software purchases that can be reconciled to software that is actually deployed -- an important concern as companies struggle to maintain software compliance under strict new rules of corporate governance.
The idea is to enable IT managers to proactively determine their compliance and if they are paying too little, enough or too much for software licenses.
AssetMetrix’s License Management Module resolves licensing complexities by consolidating information on software that was purchased at different times and from different places, making the quantity of software purchased easy to access and the accuracy of purchase history records more reliable, the company said.
The License Management Module can track installed software that has multiple names or modified names, for example, when a version name changes after a bug fix is released. The new service can accurately manage licensed software that is subject to an ISV's license program, such as when time limits or upgrade or downgrade rights may apply.
About the Author
Stuart J. Johnston has covered technology, especially Microsoft, since February 1988 for InfoWorld, Computerworld, Information Week, and PC World, as well as for Enterprise Developer, XML & Web Services, and .NET magazines.