Tuesday, 30 October 2018

Mainstream Positions in SAM

I came across a question many times, what are the key positions in SAM during my conversations with HR, clients and with senior management? Today, I would like to briefly talk about role and positions in SAM. 

When I joined SAM industry 10 years ago, there were not a lot highly experienced Software Asset Management (SAM) professionals. Very few companies have deployed SAM tools. 

In the course of time, SAM industry has evolved, and it's been turned out from "nice-to-have" to "must-have". The management/ executives prospect towards SAM investment has also changed from investment to cost optimization. 

This was not just happened, the importance of SAM programs has risen up because many things like increasing software audits with negative outcomes, badly negotiated contracts in terms, overspending on software licenses and maintenance etc. Now a day, companies want to gain control on their software investment and reduce audit risk.

There could be many SA roles but mainly below are the key positions: 

Software Asset Manager: This position manages and priorities IT Asset management projects and tasks base on business driver (cost saving, risk mitigation, innovation) 

License Analyst: Gathering data, license entitlements and compliance positioning etc. 

Contract Management Analyst: Primarily responsible for favorable terms and conditions. better negotiations of support and maintenance etc.  

SAM Technical Analyst: Primarily responsible to run and configure SAM tools 

These are the main positions, however there could be many more roles based on organization structure. The industry is rapidly growing with lot of dynamic changes in licensing metrics and models. So, demand of SAM professional will be risen up, the only thing is important to have being SAM professional you always need to update the skills and follow the trend of IT to be in race.  

Tuesday, 11 September 2018

Understanding BarTender Software Licensing in brief

BarTender software by Seagull Scientific, Inc. is used for label design, label printing, RFID, and much more.
It can be licensed in couple of ways:
1- Licensed per PC
2- Licensed per printer

There are mainly FOUR editions are available:
1- Basic edition 
2- Professional edition
3- Enterprise edition 
4- Enterprise automation 

Top two editions are primarily used for creating, designing and print the labels, however if you want to achieve automation and much more you would need look at bottom two editions.

Licensing options

Basic and Professional edition : Licensed based on number of PC used. Unlimited printer can be connected and print, create and design the label.
Enterprise and Enterprise automation: Licensed based on number of Printer used. Unlimited user can be used with defined/limited connectivity with printers based on your plan like ( 1-3 printers,3-5 printers etc.)

Which Bartender is right for you? 



                                                                                                                                          Source: Seagull


References: 

https://www.seagullscientific.com/label-software/barcode-label-design-and-printing/compare-bartender-editions/

https://www.seagullscientific.com/







Friday, 7 September 2018

Visual Studio Subscription (formally known as MSDN subscription): Understanding licensing

Visual Studio Subscription is one of most widely used Microsoft's application used by various organizations to develop their application with most efficient and cost effective way, however one needs to be understand the advantages and obligations of Visual Studio subscription.

One most important concept which I came across while discussing with clients is clarity on Production and Development environment. So,

Production Environment: As per Microsoft, A production environment is defined as an environment that is accessed by end users of an application (such as an Internet Web site) and that is used for more than Acceptance Testing of that application or Feedback. In simplest word "An environment used to make money or carry out the business of an organization"

Development Environment: Used to develop and create and application for production systems.

From November 2017 Microsoft Whitepaper:

"All Visual Studio subscriptions and Visual Studio Professional are licensed on a per-user basis. Each licensed user may install and use the software on any number of devices to design, develop, test, and demonstrate their programs. Visual Studio subscriptions also allow the licensed user to evaluate the software and to simulate customer environments in order to diagnose issues related to your programs. Each additional person who uses the software in this way must also have a license"

Their are many options to buy Visual Studio subscription but it is important to understand what are the features each option has in order to get most value for money and to make sure that developers and compliant for all their undertaking development activities. 
Some features I am listing here are common in both the options: 

1- User based Licensing: Visual Studio subscription licenses operate on a named used basis. Each subscription is activated and assigned to a uses's Microsoft account. All users who come to the contact of software which has been download form Visual Studio portal must be assigned a Visual Studio Subscription license. For example: A system engineer who installs the software on machines should also covered by Visual Studio subscription. One exception to this rule is those end users who are involved in UAT( User acceptance testing) but downloaded the software from Visual Studio subscription portal can ONLY use it.

2- License Reassignment: Subscription can be assigned to other users but only once in a 90 days. It can also be reassigned to an employees, contractors, third party etc. but re-assignment restriction would remain once in a 90 days. 

3- Software available on subscription portal: Any developer who is assigned a Visual Studio subscription can download and use any software available on their subscription portal**. 

4- Multiple Machine Use: Subscription allows to use a software downloaded form Visual Studio portal to any number of devices simultaneously, no matter whether the machines belongs to home or office. 

5- Perpetual use rights: Visual Studio subscriptions purchased through certain channels( like EA, Open Agreement) provide perpetual use rights that allows developer who is assigned the Visual Studio subscription can still make use of all software they had downloaded and obtained keys even after the expiration of subscription, however they cannot install any subsequent upgrades of that software.
Generally, Visual Studio which do NOT provide perpetual rights includes:
- Visual Studio cloud subscriptions

- Visual Studio subscriptions purchased through Enterprise Agreement Subscription, Open Value Subscription, Campus Agreement, or other “subscription” Volume Licensing programs

- Visual Studio subscriptions offered through the Microsoft Partner Network to competency partners and to Microsoft Action Pack partners.

6- Transfer rights: If a Visual Studio subscription is transferred or sold,any perpetual use rights are transferred to the new party and the seller can no longer use the software

Other most common considerations

1- Training is not considered a development activity, so Visual Studio subscription can not be used.

2- Environment used for DR( disaster recovery) and back-up activities are considered production environment so Visual Studio subscription can not be used.

3- Visual Studio subscription can be used for non-production use as well ONLY in case of Office Pro plus. Visual Studio Enterprise subscription gives right to use Office Pro Plus on to one machine by one user.

References:

https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Visual-Studio-2018-Licensing-Whitepaper-November-2017.pdf 

https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/pricing/ 


Tuesday, 7 August 2018

Microsoft New Announcement for product pricing and products names

Microsoft will be making a series of changes across our program and product portfolio to provide unique offers that support customer digital transformation, improve the buying and selling experience, and make it easier to do business with Microsoft. We continue to execute on our Modern Commerce strategy by introducing programmatic changes across our VL programs that relate specifically to offer pricing and discounting.
Pricing adjustments coming on October pricelists
On October 1, 2018, we will adjust pricing for our licensing programs and make price adjustments to on-premises and cloud products. These changes will highlight the benefits of our pricing for a cloud-first world, help us move from program-centric to a customer-centric pricing structure, and create more consistency and transparency across our purchasing channels.
October pricing changes include:
  • Establishing a single, consistent starting price across all programs aligned to web direct for online services (OLS)
  • Removing the programmatic volume discounts (Level A and Open Level C) in Enterprise Agreement (EA)/EA Subscription, MPSA, Select/ Select Plus, and Open programs (Open, Open Value, Open Value Subscription)
  • Aligning government pricing for on-premises and online services to the lowest commercial price in EA/EAS, MPSA, Select Plus, and Open Programs
  • Delivering a newly designed Customer Price Sheet that better outlines how a customer’s price was derived (direct EA/EAS only)
In conjunction with the programmatic pricing changes, several changes to our product pricing will be delivered, including:
  • Office 2019 commercial prices will increase 10 percent over current on-premises pricing
    • The price increase will include Office client, Enterprise CAL, Core CAL, and server products
  • Windows 10 Enterprise E3 offers will be renamed:
    • E3 will now refer to the per user offer only- Windows 10 Enterprise E3 per User becomes Windows 10 Enterprise E3
    • Windows 10 Enterprise E3 per Device becomes Windows 10 Enterprise
    • The price of Windows 10 Enterprise will be raised to match the price of Windows 10 Enterprise E3
    • Windows 10 Enterprise E5 per device will be discontinued
Each of these changes will be reflected on the October 2018 pricelists, with preview on the September 2018 pricelist.

Source: Microsoft Blog 
https://blogs.partner.microsoft.com/mpn/announcing-price-adjustments/ 

Tuesday, 17 July 2018

Autodesk Licensing an Overview


As Autodesk has stopped selling perpetual licensing and transitioned to subscription based model. Companies which have large estate of Autodesk footprint in the environment have questions in mind
What about my existing perpetual licenses?
What are my new options?
What about my existing perpetual licenses?
So, if you choose not to switch and stay on maintenance, you will continue to receive the benefits of that plan, including support and product updates as long as you continue to renew. You can switch to subscription on your next renewal.
What are my new options?

SUBSCRIPTION-BASED OFFERINGS
Formally Known as
Now referred to as  
Desktop Subscription or Cloud Service Subscription
A subscription with single-user access
Network Subscription
A subscription with multi single-user access

OFFERING AVAILABLE FOR A PERPETUAL LICENSE
Formally Known as
Now referred to as  
Maintenance Subscription
a maintenance plan

Point to remember:
Perpetual licenses on maintenance will be replaced with subscription licenses.
·         Subscriptions with single-user access require internet connectivity once in 30 days.
·         Standalone licenses cannot be switched to network licenses and vice-versa
·         Term is fixed. So, you can not change the term twice. If you decided, at the time of switch for (1, 1-2, 1-3) years.  It will be renewed for the same terms at the time of renewal.
·         Your Perpetual licenses rights terminates and replaced with term-based licenses rights
·          
Licensing options
Auto desk offers two types of subscription access, each with its own licensing technology.
Stand-alone licenses (included in subscriptions with single-user access)
Single-user access is a good choice for organizations that need one or more stand-alone licenses. These licenses are assigned to individual users and can’t be shared. Customers must connect to the internet every 30 days to validate their Autodesk ID. These subscriptions cost less than subscriptions with multi-user access.
Network licenses (included in subscriptions with multi-user access)
Multi-user access is a good choice for companies with multiple teams that need access to the same software deployed through network licenses. Network licenses aren’t assigned to individual users and can be shared. Network licenses do not require an internet connection to activate or use.
A subscription with multi-user access supports the use of Autodesk products up to a maximum number of users, or seats, connected to a server network. The products can be installed on as many computers as you want. However, you can use the software simultaneously only on the number of purchased seats. For example, if you have 6 subscriptions seats and 8 users, all users have access, but only 6 can use the product at any one time. Because you can install the products on more systems than the number of subscription seats purchased, you get true floating licenses across your entire organization.
Using the Network License Manager
Administrators must install the Network License Manager (NLM) to assign licenses to users, up to the number of seats purchased. If all network licenses are in use, no more computers can run the Autodesk product until a license is returned to the NLM. The NLM supports 3 server models. When purchasing a subscription with multi-user access, you specify and set up the server model that best suits your needs.
Single License Server Model
The single license server model is the most basic configuration available. The Network License Manager is installed on only one server, which means all license management and activity is restricted to one single location. A single license file represents the total number of licenses available on the server.
Advantages
Because all license management takes place on one server, you have just one point of administration and one point of failure.
Of the three license server models, this configuration requires the least amount of maintenance.
Disadvantages
If this single server license fails, the Autodesk product(s) cannot run until the server is back online
Distributed License Server Model
In the distributed license server model, your software licenses are divided across more than one server. Each server contains a unique license file, representing a portion of your total number of licenses. The Network License Manager is installed on each server so all license activity and management is distributed among the number of servers that best suits your needs. The group of servers that make up your distributed network is called the “server pool.”
Advantages
Servers can be distributed across a wide area network (WAN) and do not need to exist on the same subnet.
If one server in the distributed server pool fails, the licenses on the remaining servers are still available.
If you need to replace a server in the distributed server pool, you do not need to rebuild the entire pool.
Server replacement is easier than in a redundant server pool, where you must reactivate the entire pool.
Disadvantages
If a server in the distributed server pool fails, the licenses on that server are unavailable.
This model can require more time for setup and maintenance than other models.
Redundant License Server Model
In the redundant license server model, all of your software licenses are configured on three different servers. Each server contains the same license file, so all your software licenses are available on each server. The Network License Manager is installed on each server and can monitor and issue licenses if at least two of your three servers are functional. In the redundant license server model, all three servers must be located on the same subnet and have consistent network communications.
Advantages
If one of the three servers fail, all licenses that are managed in the server pool are still available.
Disadvantages
If more than one server fails, no licenses are available.
All three servers must reside on the same subnet and have reliable network communications. The redundant server pool does not provide network fault tolerance.
If one of the three servers are replaced, the complete redundant server pool must be rebuilt.

Some most common definitions
Global Travel Rights:
Global Travel Rights are a benefit of maintenance plans and subscriptions which permits the use of products and services covered by those maintenance plans or subscriptions worldwide while traveling outside the country of purchase. For Global Travel Rights to be applicable, the maintenance plan or subscription must have been purchased in the individual or legal entity's Home Country**. Global Travel Rights are provided as part of the subscription or maintenance plan contract.  There is no form to fill out or process required to enable the benefit.
Examples and Scenarios
Examples where Global Travel Rights are permitted:
Purchases in home country:  If the customer is an end user and purchased a subscription, or a perpetual license with an active maintenance plan in his/her home country, then that individual can use the product/service globally.
 
Individual is a Named User: If the customer is an individual and purchased a subscription with single-user access in his/her home country, then that individual is the Named User and can use the product/service globally.
 
Purchases by an incorporated legal entity: If a company purchases a subscription, or a perpetual license with an active maintenance plan and the company is an incorporated legal entity, then any employee or onsite contractor of that legal entity, in the company's home country, may use the product globally.
 
Subscription to cloud service and cloud services which are benefits of subscriptions and maintenance plans: Provided the subscription is purchased in the customer's home country, then the cloud service may be accessed by any authorized third party, globally.
Examples where Global Travel Rights are not permitted:
Customer wishes to grant access to employees of its Parent or a Sister Company or a Subsidiary in different country: Only employees of the purchasing legal entity may use the covered software (and any other benefits) globally. Employees of parent or sister companies or subsidiaries may not use the covered software (or any other benefits) globally.
 
Customer wishes to grant access to employees of its Parent or a Sister Company or a Subsidiary in the same country: Only employees of the purchasing legal entity may use the covered software (and any other benefits) in the same country. Employees of parent or sister companies or subsidiaries may not use the covered software (or any other benefits) in the same country.
 
Customer purchases from an Authorized Reseller outside the Home Country: The individual customer, or employees of the purchasing legal entity customer, may only use the software in the country of purchase. The individual or employees of the purchasing legal entity may NOT use the software product globally
Internet Requirement
Internet connectivity is a requirement of subscription with single-user access. Connectivity is required the first time you run the software and every 30 days thereafter. If your site does not have internet access, you can still take advantage of subscription if you are switching to a subscription with multi-user access. In this case, internet connectivity is required only to generate and maintain the license file for the license server on your local network, and end-user access to the internet is not required.

Is reinstalling existing software required immediately after you switch
For more detail:
Why to move to a subscription:
What to Consider Before Moving from Maintenance to Subscription
Move to a Subscription Overview

FAQs