Having the right usage metering tool is the first step towards effective management and optimization of your technical software applications. Now that you have a powerful usage metering tool that provides visibility over your software assets usage, what else can it do? How do you maximize the features and functionalities included in the tool? How do you properly and effectively use it to achieve the end goal of optimizing the cost and value of your software assets?
Set Up to Fit Requirements
Implementing an effective technical software management and optimization program would require not only the right tool, but also the right information aggregated from the correct and accurate data collection of the tool. It is imperative to have your software usage metering tool installed and configured based on the specific requirements and goals of your initiative. Not only should it run smoothly and collect the correct and accurate usage data from your environment, it should also be set up in a way that would provide the needed information when it is needed. This would mean that dashboards and reports should be personalized so that each user or administrator would immediately get the information he or she needs in the format or presentation that he or she prefers.
Hands-on Training
Users and administrators may need to undergo hands-on training from subject-matter experts in order to fully understand how to effectively use and proficiently manage the tool. Personalized training should include in-depth discussions on administration and reporting, as well as configurations, with focus on your specific initiatives.
This training should help you learn how to maximize ROI with expert guidance, use live data to gain hands-on experience in reporting and analysis, and produce practical output that can be used by your organization for your software license optimization initiatives.
Analyze Usage Data
Analyzing usage data is crucial in optimizing the usage of expensive technical software applications. The right information presented in easily understandable reports should be enough for a thorough software and license usage analyses. These usage analyses should be able to tell you how many licenses of each feature from which application are being used on each hour of each day of each week or month. They should also be able to tell you which users are using which license at which time, and whether they are using more than one license at a time or are holding on to idle licenses for long periods.
With the right report analyses, you should be able to tell which features or applications need more licenses, and which ones can withstand some reduction. You should be able to simulate the perfect mix of licensing methods that would fit your current needs and maximize your license usage while reducing your overall licensing costs. But beyond that, you should be able to predict future licensing needs based on your current usage trends and growth projections, thus allowing you to properly plan for future budgets.
Effective usage data analysis would provide the documentation you need to come up with measures to achieve your license optimization goals.
Implement Value Optimization Initiatives
The end goal is, of course, to optimize the value of your software assets. With effective usage data analysis, you could attain a better negotiating position with software vendors because you know exactly what you need, how much, and when. You could rebalance your portfolio and let go of unnecessary M&S costs depending on your actual needs. You could also implement a fair and accurate chargeback system that would allow for better management of your available software assets.
Value optimization means that you should be able to maximize the usage of each software asset and improve user productivity at the optimum cost for the company. It means that you should be able to allocate more budget for new technology, upgrades, personnel improvement, business expansion, etc., while keeping productivity at optimum levels.
The Complete Experience
Open iT offers a host of software usage metering, analysis, and optimization solutions and services that would guide you through every step of your technical software management and optimization journey. With Open iT, you don’t just get a tool, you get professional installation and customization services, online and onsite training and workshop, reliable 24/5 global customer support services, vendor analyses, managed services, consulting services, customized report and dashboard creation, and many more. With Open iT, you get the full experience.
Contact your Account Manager to learn more about the Open iT solutions and services that would guide you towards full optimization of your valuable technical software assets.