Johannesburg, 07 Oct 2008
Microsoft Large Account Reseller, PC-WARE's core business is to provide Software Asset Management (SAM) services to its customers. Customers planning Microsoft migrations are the cause of the increase in SAM demand.
For software audits, PC-WARE has, over the last ten years, designed a unique tool for South Africa - a software recognition database, also called the Software DNA. This recognition database is used for data collected from Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, PC-WARE's own proprietary Software Asset Management tool, SAM System, and from Altiris Asset Management Suite level 2. The recognition database translates PC's and server inventory data into readable software applications including file versions, if a license is required, language etc. This information is required for establishing compliancy. The different tools are used for different environments, depending on the heterogeneousness of the infrastructure.
Maurice Staal, Managing Director, explains: “We have received an increase in requests for software audits over the last couple of months, which put more pressure on our SAM team. This includes customers who are looking to migrate from Microsoft Office 2003 to 2007. Depending on the agreements in place, we will analyse the licenses deployed and procured, and the software actually used by the users. Based on these outcomes we will make recommendations on how many users actually need a full office suite. We analyse who uses which components of a typical Suite. We split the Standard desktops users and define a group of users for the Microsoft Professional Edition and a group for the more cost effective Standard Edition, obviously resulting in a cost saving for our customer”.
The PC-WARE methodology permits not only a detailed view of the software assets, but also the hardware components needed for the migration process, thus identifying whether the existing hardware is able to fulfil the minimum requirements of the new software.
Staal adds: “Each migration and the associated acquisition of new licenses always raise legal issues. With our SAM implementation we create transparency for our customers. Our customers can be confident that all copyright regulations are fulfilled. We will also advise on cost effective standardisation, with the suitable Microsoft Agreements. In Europe, where Software Asset Management has already become an integral part of the business, a company can count on a saving potential of 15% in the first year. Gartner speaks even of 25%. So when deciding to migrate, we recommend first to analyse utilisation by the users and the hardware in place.”
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