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The challenges and requirements for managing software assets in the datacenter are somewhat different to those of managing software assets on the desktop. When selecting an enterprise SAM solution you need to ensure that it can handle all the needs of both your desktop and datacenter environments.
Datacenter Platform Support
Unlike the desktop where Windows dominates, your datacenter is likely to have server platforms from Sun, HP, and/or IBM as well as Windows and Linux. ManageSoft Enterprise Compliance Manager™ (ECM) includes inventory data collection for Solaris, Linux and Windows Server platforms, with support for other UNIX variants on the way.
Datacenter Inventory Management Support
Unlike the dominance of Microsoft SMS/SCCM on the desktop, there is no dominant solution for server configuration management and IT inventory tracking. Your server SAM solution then should either include its own inventory capability optimized for server environments, or have the ability to connect to whichever solution you may already have. ManageSoft ECM includes its own IT inventory discovery and collection functionality, and ManageSoft consultants can configure connectors to other third party inventory systems to meet your specific needs.
Datacenter Inventory & Discovery Challenges
Datacenters tend to be concentrated in a few locations and be linked by very high bandwidth connections, so the typical desktop inventory network related challenges are not applicable. But because performance and security considerations are much more critical for servers, many IT organizations won’t allow inventory agents to be installed on their servers. ManageSoft ECM includes a highly efficient zero-touch discovery and inventory capability that can take a quick snapshot of server inventories without impacting performance or security.
Datacenter Applications & Virtualization
Compared to the wide range of desktop applications, a typical datacenter has a much smaller number of applications, but they tend to be more expensive, complex, and business-critical. And most datacenters now make use of virtualization technology to reduce costs associated with server hardware, cooling and energy consumption. For a variety of reasons, including the ease of duplicating virtual machines, virtualization can significantly increase the probability of software license non-compliance. The ManageSoft ECM VMware Discovery and Inventory Option includes comprehensive functionality for discovering, identifying, and managing licenses for, software in VMware virtual environments.
Datacenter License Models
License models for enterprise server-based software products tend to be unique to each vendor and are often highly complex. For example Oracle has two primary license models: Processor-based and Named User Plus. Each has a complex set of rules and requires collection of a variety of hardware and software inventory and user data. ManageSoft ECM includes support for managing a range of complex server software license models, including those of major vendors like Oracle, IBM and Microsoft.
ECM Meets Datacenter SAM Solution Requirements
- Support for UNIX, Linux and Windows server platforms
- Ability to connect to whichever third-party inventory solution you have
- Agent-less inventory data collection if you don’t already have an inventory solution
- Ability to manage licenses for software installed on virtual machines
- Support for complex enterprise server-based software license models
As you may have surmised by now, ManageSoft Enterprise Compliance Manager meets all of these requirements and many more.
To learn more about software asset management download the whitepaper “5 Steps to SAM”, or contact your ManageSoft representative to learn how ManageSoft ECM can meet all of your SAM needs on both the Desktop and in the Datacenter.
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