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

Software Asset Management might sound simple but the reality is far from simple.

For SAM success to be realised, you first need to define what SAM success looks like for your organisation. You then need to break this down into smaller, specific chunks that can be reported against.

Click here to see License Dashboard's suggestions for how to tackle SAM in the right order

Introducing License Manager's new notifications dashboard - your instant view of all the critical information you need to know about your licence compliance position, software usage, system health and much more!

Click here to access License Dashboard's video page where you'll find short and insightful overviews of our solutions and how they address your software licensing and SAM challanges.

With Sophos EndUser Protection, security gets personal. That's because it's all about protecting the end user and not just a laptop or a mobile device. Sophos EndUser Protection combines mobile device management and complete endpoint protection together to protect every device a user has. And it's licensed per-user, not per device.

This new licence provides a huge competitive advantage no other vendor can deliver – complete protection for all devices from Windows and Macs, to smartphones and tablets. That means you can deliver more value, drive more sales, and enjoy more margin.

Features

• Complete protection for end-users – built for today's business
• Mobile device management for iOS, Android, BlackBerry and more
• Enterprise app store for managing or blocking mobile apps
• Proven antivirus protection for Windows, Macs, Linux, UNIX and virtual systems
• Complete integrated endpoint protection with app and device control, web protection, patch assessment, client firewall and NAC, file encryption, data control and more
• Anti-spam and threat protection for Microsoft Exchange Servers

Benefits

• Protect every device, every where, with everything end-users need
• Sensible licensing per-user and not per-device makes security easy and affordable
• Easily implement secure BYOD access to corporate email and data
• Reduce day-to-day management with streamlined management tools and a self-serve portal for end users
• Keep users happy with high-performance single agent security that won't slow them down
• Know Sophos are there for you - fine tuning detection rules, providing free security updates and software upgrades, covering home use, and backed by 24/7 expert, certified support

For more information contact your Phoenix Account Manager on 0845 265 1265 or email info@phoenixs.co.uk

As a long-standing leading software license provider to the Public Sector we are fully aware of all the cost savings that our clients are having to make.

Over the last few years we have seen Local Authorities and NHS Trusts radically change in size and shape, and there has been a squeeze on procurement to ensure that savings on software licensing are made wherever possible.

This drive to save money has in many cases been effective, however, for some public sector clients it has caused them a problem. Saving money does not just come down to one figure, that being the price. Price is in effect just one component that needs to be considered. Here at Phoenix we have come across clients who have signed contracts with suppliers for hundreds of thousands of pounds where the only scoring criteria was price. As a result the reseller is not mandated to provide a service around this and we have seen clients struggle to get correct software licensing advice and, in some situations, they have been left with a compliance risk.

There is no point sourcing the cheapest price, if in six or twelve months time it has actually cost you more.

Phoenix believes in long-standing client engagement and has a large team to provide an overlay to assist clients with advice on all forms of technology and IT procurement - from Technical Workshops, Software Licensing Sessions through to Commercial Benchmarking Phoenix has a proven track record when it comes to providing a true best value model.

If you feel you're not getting best value, if you need a second opinion as to what you are currently purchasing, or if you would like an informal chat to understand how we could help, please don't hesitate to call us on
0845 265 1265 or email info@phoenixs.co.uk

VMware have announced that they will be discontinuing vRAM-based licensing for vSphere 5 with the release of vSphere 5.1. vSphere will now be licensed on a much simpler per CPU basis rather than the previous mixture of CPUs, vRAM and VMs being managed. Announcing the new server virtualisation tools, incoming CEO Pat Gelsinger said that VMware was "striking that word from the vocabulary" at VMware, referring to vRAM.

In other words, the higher the VM density, the less hardware a data centre will need to purchase now with no additional vSphere licences to cover vRAM requirements.

Find out what this means to you by contacting us on 0845 265 1265 or email: enquiries@phoenixs.co.uk

The ITAM Review, written by Martin Thompson, is aimed at worldwide ITAM professionals providing independent industry news, reviews, resources and networking opportunities to Vendors, Partners, Consultants and End Users working in the areas of IT Asset Management, Software Asset Management or Software Licensing.

In his recent independent review of License Dashboard Enterprise Suite Martin points out that "the majority of Software Asset Management (SAM) offerings available on the market today have developed from inventory, auditing or asset register systems. It is clear the 'License Manager' solution from License Dashboard has been built from the ground up for the sole purpose of SAM".

In a previous review earlier this year Martin reported "…it is evident that ‘License Manager’ from License Dashboard developed from Claret crunching. It demonstrates all the hallmarks of a great software auditor yet in an automated fashion. It meticulously combs through the evidence as a licensing specialist would and presents an auditors picture of both compliance and usage."

In his Executive Summary Martin could find 'no weaknesses' in this License Dashboard product.

Click here to see the full report

With schools now increasingly responsible for their own budgets, more and more School IT Staff and Head Teachers are asking about how we can help them make savings.

Here at Phoenix we are one of the UK's leading software providers to schools and we have a variety of agreements in place which will help schools get the best pricing on the software that they need.

We work extensively with the Yorkshire  and HumberGrid for Learning (YHGFL) and the South West Grid for Learning (SWGFL) offering agreements which are unique for their members.

• YHGFL is a Microsoft agreement which provides YHGFL members with discount on Microsoft licences via an EES Agreement
• SWGFL have an offering available UK wide which allows schools to purchase Sophos products at a large discount, managed via a dedicated portal https://www.phoenixs.co.uk/swgfl/

These agreements are just two examples of how we are helping UK schools save money every day. There are many other agreements available to us too, so if you are a school looking to save money please do not hesitate to call us on 0845 265 1265 and we can talk you through your options.

Centralise & evaluate your software licensing records faster than ever

Your organisation owns thousands of software licences, maybe even hundreds of thousands or millions. But do you know exactly what software licences you've purchased? Do you know how much they're worth? Could you quickly prove that you have the right to use the software if audited by a vendor?

License Analyzer from License Dashboard is the fastest, easiest way for your organisation to build an accurate and intelligent single source of all your software licences, from desktop to server, physical to virtual.

Click here to find out more