FlexNet Manager for Desktops

Software is one of the major items on IT expense budgets. Industry analyst estimates put it at 20 to 35% of total enterprise IT spend. Not only are desktop and server applications from the top vendors, such as Microsoft and Adobe, strategic to businesses, they also represent the vast majority of an enterprise’s software spend. The approach for managing this portfolio of software assets is typically immature and frequently involves spreadsheets and other manual or ad-hoc methods. The lack of a mature software asset management process exposes enterprises to audit liabilities and overspending on licenses and maintenance. What is needed is an Enterprise License Optimization solution that allows organizations to control costs and reduce risk associated with software assets. FlexNet Manager for Desktops, part of the FlexNet Manager Suite for Enterprises, provides robust, entitlement based license management functionality that enables organizations to track, manage and optimize software applications and license agreements for Microsoft and Adobe software products.

FlexNet Manager Platform

FlexNet Manager for Desktops is built on the FlexNet Manager Platform, a robust framework that enables organizations to discover and manage software assets across the enterprise. It provides desktop to datacenter software asset management (SAM) functionality, including insight into software installations and usage, and purchased versus installed license reconciliation. Its comprehensive reporting capabilities allow users to identify and evaluate areas of compliance concern and make informed decisions that reduce license and maintenance costs.

FlexNet Manager Platform integrates with many other IT systems to collect the data necessary for next generation software asset management. This includes out-of-the-box connectivity to Microsoft SCCM, as well as connectors for other third party inventory and configuration management tools. It also provides connectivity to HR, Active Directory, procurement, ERP and other systems for user, computer, purchasing and organizational data.

Enterprise License Optimization for Microsoft & Adobe

To enable true enterprise-wide license optimization for Microsoft and Adobe products, FlexNet Manager for Desktops includes Microsoft and Adobe Product Use Rights Libraries that enable it to determine an accurate license position and optimize license consumption. The Product Use Rights Libraries contain the license entitlements provided by Microsoft and Adobe purchase agreements, such as Enterprise Agreements (EA), Select Agreements, Software Assurance (SA) and Adobe Cumulative License Program (CLP). These rights include: upgrade, downgrade, right of second use, multiple versions and virtual environment use rights. Use rights can dramatically affect the number of licenses consumed by an organization, and therefore must be taken into account to minimize costs and ensure license compliance.

Optimized Software License Management = IT Savings and Compliance

FlexNet Manager for Desktops enables organizations to implement multiple license and contract optimization strategies:

• Apply entitlements, such as product use rights, to optimize license consumption.
• Smart allocation through the prioritization of licenses, to minimize license consumption.
• License Reharvesting—collect application usage data to expose under-used software and allow licenses to be re-allocated. This reduces new license purchases at true-ups and renewals.
• Maintenance cost reductions based on usage data—drop maintenance on unused licenses and/or versions that are no longer covered by vendor support.
• Consolidation of applications and vendors and maximization of volume discounts. FlexNet Manager for Desktops automatically categorizes software applications per ITIL standard categories.
• Retirement—reclaim licenses from retired hardware.

FlexNet Manager for Desktops is the only Enterprise License Optimization solution that automates license and contract management to reduce license, maintenance and audit costs for pervasive desktop and server software, while maintaining license compliance.

FlexNet Manager for Desktops allows organizations to more effectively “use what they have and buy only what they need.”