Revolutionise how software is requested, approved, procured and managed

Why SAM Director? 

• Streamline software requests, approvals & deployments
• Self-service improves productivity & user satisfaction
• Reduce software procurement costs
• Ensure only approved applications are deployed

SAM Director complements License Manager by extending an organisation’s ability to manage how software is requested, approved, purchased and deployed across the enterprise.  From an intelligent self-service AppStore of approved software titles to a comprehensive online sign-off process, plus the ability to feed SAM metrics and triggers to existing ITAM platforms, SAM Director is designed to help organisations move beyond Licence Management and establish mature Software Asset Management practices.

SAM Director comprises:
 
APPSTORE – provide all users across the network with self-service access to a virtual software catalogue populated with approved software titles.  Users can request software deployments, including business justification and timescale requirements

APPROVALS MANAGEMENT – line managers and department heads can view and manage software requests online, quickly approving, rejecting or re-routing requests as appropriate

LICENCE MANAGEMENT – via a direct integration with License Dashboard License Manager, SAM Director provides an instant view of licence availability as well as facilitating the inter-departmental transfer of licences as approved by the appropriate licence managers

PROCUREMENT – where licences need to be purchased, SAM Director can trigger the procurement process, identifying the appropriate suppliers for different licences and tracking progress

DEPLOYMENT – when a software request is fully approved and licences have been assigned, deployment teams can be automatically notified to deploy nominated applications to the appropriate devices on the network

SAM Director is the first Software Asset Management platform to connect everyone involved in managing and licensing the applications on the network, from end users to line managers, SAM specialists to procurement and deployment professionals.

SAM Director is available as an additional component to License Manager, or as an integral part of the Enterprise SAM solution for larger organisations.

To learn more about SAM Director, email info@licensedashboard.com or call • +44 845 265 1217 (UK/International) •1-855-773-3404 (US & Canada) • 1800 502 881 (AUS & NZ)

New research released by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) suggests that 30% of small businesses in the UK are ‘knowingly under-licensed’. The research fails to identify the reason, but if the figures are accurate, it does suggest that SMBs are either simply not seeing the value in the commercial software they use, or fail to recognise the risks of being caught using unlicensed software (or, perhaps worse, perceive the cost of buying the software to be higher than the risk of getting caught).

Perhaps what the BSA and other licensing watchdogs need is a change of tact. Instead of (or, more realistically, perhaps as well as) publicising those organisations that end up significantly out of pocket following a software licence audit, perhaps there is an argument for those charged with protecting software licensing and intellectual property to talk in language that resonates better with SMB business owners?
 
Here’s a simple example. If a small courier firm had three of its vans taken off the road for not having insurance, could it still do business? Probably not; that’s why the firm accepts that van insurance is a necessary cost of doing business, even in economically tight times. But that same business may not immediately realise that its vans only go to the right places and they can only conduct their business (invoicing, payroll, scheduling etc.) because they use commercial computer software. If those applications were not available due to an audit identifying they were not licences, the impact on the business would be just as severe.

These SMEs need educating so that they stop viewing software as ancillary to their business activities, and instead realise their business relies completely on it. Failing to license properly is not an option.

What SMEs can – and should – do is minimise the cost of software and avoid over-spend. Just like they will spend time hunting for the best insurance prices, proactive management of their software licensing can deliver significant cost savings while also removing the risk of being found non-compliant.

Just as paying the van insurance, sales tax, payroll etc. is not optional – neither is paying for the commercial software used. But that doesn’t mean you should spend a penny more than you need to, or take advantage of different available licensing schemes to reap the full benefits of your entitlements. For many SMBs, the net effect of licence management can actually be positive – delivering bottom-line benefits back to the organisation.

Read more at http://www.licensedashboard.com/samblog/post/Striking-a-chord-with-SMBs.aspx#WlVPQOsFEkgvsfJI.99

Leading developer of advanced software licence management solutions, License Dashboard, today announced the launch of License Manager 5.7, its flagship software asset management (SAM) tool.

Available immediately, License Manager 5.7 is the first SAM solution to offer accurate in-product management of software licences in virtual server environments, including modelling the effect of Dynamic Resource Allocation (DRA). With License Manager 5.7 organisations can realise the desired cost savings from virtualisation with the peace of mind that their software licensing position remains fully compliant.

Other notable enhancements include a new 'Intelligent Import' function for simplifying the import of software install and hardware configuration information from a range of different inventory solutions, further improvements to the recently launched License Dashboard Cloud Console and additional reporting functionality.

Click here to see the full press release

FIND OUT MORE
 
To see what's new in License Manager 5.7, why not attend a brief webinar? Click here to register.

In the meantime, you can also watch a short video which will give you a brief overview of the new features and functionality.
 
For further information and pricing, contact your Phoenix Account Manager on 0845 265 1265 or email info@phoenixs.co.uk

Adobe® Creative Suite® 6 (CS6) software helps you overcome challenges of lengthy deployment and ongoing support.  Plus, with consolidated purchasing, you can help ensure that all creative users have access to the cutting-edge tools they need to keep the organisation creative and competitive.

• Improved Enterprise Deployment Toolkit makes deployment more efficient
• Easier upgrades from within trial versions simplify evaluation and installation
• More flexible licensing options provide significant cost savings and ease licence management
• Consolidated purchasing brings down costs and puts the latest innovations into users' hands without deployment hassles

   
UPGRADE OFFER
With the launch of CS6, Adobe limited its upgrade path to one version back.  For a limited time, however, Adobe will allow CS3 and CS4 customers to benefit from upgrade pricing.

Contact your Phoenix Account Manager on 0845 265 1265 or email info@phoenixs.co.uk to see how you can simplify purchasing, deployment and support by upgrading to CS6 today.

* This promotion for Adobe Creative Suite ends 31 December 2012.  Adobe allows upgrades to CS6 individual products and suite editions from one version back (which in this case is CS5 and CS5.5, due to the interim CS5.5 release). For example, if you have a validly licensed copy of Photoshop CS5, you can upgrade to Photoshop CS6 at the upgrade price. Owners of individual products are not eligible to upgrade to suite editions.

Although under this upgrade policy, owners of CS3 and CS4 products are not eligible for upgrade pricing, Adobe is making a special offer to CS3 and CS4 customers that will give them a temporary upgrade path to CS6 until 31 December 2012. After that date, only customers on CS5 or CS5.5 will qualify for upgrade pricing to CS6.

With Microsoft's recent change to the eligibility criteria for Housing Associations (HAs) potentially increasing some prices by up to 300%, we at Phoenix are seeing an immediate requirement for genuine licence management. 

In the past, Software Asset Management (SAM) has generally been considered a route to ensure that you are compliant as an organisation - we are increasingly seeing, however, that the true value of SAM is ensuring HAs are only procuring software that is actually needed.  Over-licensing is a large scale problem and with many Housing Associations having complex group structures that have been formalised over the years with mergers and acquisitions, it is all too easy for software to be purchased without understanding the need, or indeed if you could utilise some of your current licence estate that you just don't have visibility of in a single area - it is about strategic procurement.  Phoenix has been working with a number of Housing Associations to help them get to grips with the software assets they currently have and to help them introduce a true robust SAM programme in order to manage their estate moving forward. 

Whether you want to achieve an initial 'line in the sand' and baseline your current licence position, or perhaps you are investing in a deployed solution allowing you to manage the lifecycle of your estate from cradle to grave via a managed service, one thing is clear - whichever method works best for you as an organisation, the savings and benefits are huge. 

Can your Housing Association afford not to make the investment in SAM?

If you are keen to find out more, please call the Phoenix Voluntary Team on 0845 265 1265.

After attending a recent Webex hosted by Microsoft, I am able to pass on the following information relating to the next release of SQL.

SQL 2012 official release date is 'first half of 2012' and with it come some major changes to the licensing.

Datacentre Edition is being retired, the three versions will be Standard, BI and Enterprise. For unlimited virtualisation rights - as previously available with Datacentre Edition, customers will have to purchase Software Assurance with the Enterprise Edition.

Server and CAL licensing model is the only option for BI, Standard is available as Server & CAL and Core, and the only licensing model for Enterprise will be 'Core'. This is replacing the previous options of Server & CAL, or Processor.

SAM Portal is the first comprehensive end-to-end solution for managing software assets. Powered by the world-leading software licence management system, Licence Dashboard™, this easy-to-use interface enables organisations to take full control of the Software Asset Management (SAM) lifecycle.

With software taking up an ever-increasing share of an organisation's IT budget, it has become even more important to manage, control and protect your software assets. Having greater control of the software lifecycle process and understanding your licence position can definitely help your organisation avoid unnecessary expenditure and illegal exposure.

With its built-in workflow and easy to use Web-enabled interface, organisations can quickly implement an effective Software Asset Management programme without having to re-engineer existing systems or business processes.

For further details visit http://www.phoenixs.co.uk/software-products-and-services/sam-portal.aspx

Adobe Volume Licensing (AVL) customers can optimise their licence management with Adobe’s Licensing Web Site (LWS), which helps streamline software administration, record keeping, and legal compliance. With Adobe's LWS, AVL customers can access their serial numbers, verify that their account details are current, and run a variety of reports. They can also access electronic software delivery (ESD) versions of Adobe software.

For more information about how to log into Adobe's Licensing Web Site, as well as how to download software, run reports, and retrieve serial numbers, visit www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/volumelicensing/resources

The recent changes to the NHS software licensing agreements with Microsoft left the Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust responsible for ensuring their Microsoft software was correctly licensed. Recognising the legal responsibility of ensuring software licensing compliance, (along with the commercial implications of non-compliance), The Trust recruited Phoenix Software (Microsoft's longest-established Gold Partner and Software Asset Management Partner) to assist in reviewing its software licensing agreements, evaluating its procurement techniques and implementing an on-going Software Asset Management (SAM) strategy. After the successful implementation of a Proof of Concept Workshop the Trust decided to utilise Licence Dashboard.

Licence Dashboard Enterprise Edition fulfilled The Trust’s requirements enabling them to effectively and automatically control the entire lifecycle of their software assets from purchase, to upgrade and beyond.

Read the full case study and see just how many ways the Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust have benefitted from implementing Licence Dashboard:

http://www.phoenixs.co.uk/case-studies/Leeds-Partnerships-NHS-Foundation-Trust.aspx

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-GB/applications/Licence-Dashboard-4294983390