session 3: license optimization for the datacenter covance ... · license optimization for the...

Session 3:

License Optimization for the Datacenter

Covance Case Study

Michael Lebiedzinski, Director, Private Cloud & IT Service Management Program – Covance

Michael Lebiedzinski

Director, Private Cloud

Asset & Config Management Process Owner

Surfing the Seismic Waves of IT Asset Management

About Covance, Inc.

• World’s largest drug development services company

• Division of Labcorp, Inc.

• Founded in 1987

• 15,000 employees

• Operates in 60 countries

• $2.5B in revenue

• Headquarters in Princeton, NJ

What was the problem?

• Newly embraced IT Asset Management (ITAM) model and structure

• Lack of well defined Process, Governance and Controls

• Historically myopic, decentralized IT mindset and business model

• No holistic view of enterprise IT assets

• Lack of financial transparency and TCO

• Lifecycle management difficult to achieve

What was the problem?

• Aged HW asset environment

• Windows XP – End Of Support, April 2014

• Hardware suppliers ran out of inventory

• Older software versions not Windows 7 compatible

• Publishers not offering XP supported versions of newer releases

• Procurement records difficult to obtain across a decentralized model

What risks did this present?

• Financial impact of unfavorable audit, un-forecasted true-up expense

• Unnecessary software purchases due to lack of software license optimization

• Major delays to business projects which require accurate and complete hardware and software inventory

Solution

• Program identified by IT Asset Management to address areas of improvement

• Business Justification

- Global Windows 7 Migration; spanning hardware refresh and software upgrades

- Financial desire to better control hardware & software assets, and optimize software deployments

• Goals and Timeline

- Initial program completed Q4 2014 in line with the Windows 7 migration project

- ITAM process and supporting tools in place by Q12014

Selected Approach

• Alternatives considered

- Contract with full service solution provider

• Technologies leveraged

- Implemented Flexera FlexNet Manager Suite

• Massive data completeness and accuracy initiative

• Process changes

- Internally manage project with external resources

- Backfill BAU; train and assign current staff to project

- Ramp up internal resources to establish baseline; risk losing history

Approach – Supporting toolset

• Flexera FlexNet Manager Suite provides a single enterprise toolset and database to store and analyze software asset data

• Enabled creation of Net License Position (NLP)

- NLP = Entitlements +/- Deployments

- Relies on complete and accurate entitlement and deployment data – big challenge

Implementation challenges

• Discovery and inventory of software deployments

• Spanned desktops, laptops, servers, and other devices

• Access issues in general

• Extremely difficult to attain 100% saturation

• Discovery and inventory of existing entitlements

• Heritage data repositories not converted or integrated

• Access to aged systems not readily available

• Siloes - data never intended to support ITAM

Challenges

• Software publishers have not adopted a standardized method of representing software entitlement and deployments

• Cloud/SaaS/hybrid deployment models add further complication

• Lack of clear publisher and product ownership

• Publisher ownership often spanned multiple people and departments for large publisher, i.e. Microsoft, Oracle, Symantec

Results

• Results: $ and intangible

- If SW entitlements are not found; Repurchase software or relinquish (uninstall) application

• Initial goals were met

- Detailed view into NLP for top high-value publishers

• Additional achievements beyond the initial goals

- Engagement brought to light potential improvements

- Governance and Controls implemented

- Central data repository implemented

- Management support to enforce new processes

• Lessons learned

- Data becomes stale when not supported by a centralized CMDB or Asset Management Repository

• Critical success factors

- Mindset change

- Data integrity

- Sustainability

- Enforceable policies

- Real-time access to accurate and complete compliance posture

Lessons Learned & Recommendations

Lessons Learned & Recommendations

• Recommendations

- Know your data and where it is; leave no stone unturned

- Know where you stand and develop a plan with timeline to close the gap

- Know or establish positive working relationships with key stakeholders: Legal, Finance, Procurement, Sourcing

• What we would do differently

- Level set expectations more accurately

- Get a head start and allow more time

- Engage experts in field where internal gaps may exist

License Optimization for the Datacenter

FlexNet Manager for IBM now Accepted for Sub-capacity Reporting

Tim Boudreau, VP, Alliances – Flexera Software

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FlexNet Manager for IBMNew Option for Sub-capacity Reporting

IBM will accept FlexNet Manager for IBM data for

PVU/RVU sub-capacity reporting

• Starting with the 2015 release in April, 2015

• Can use in lieu of ILMT, TADd or IEM SUA

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Why is this Significant?

• Customers now have a choice

• You can now pull IBM license management into a total

enterprise view and more effectively manage your business

• High probability of operational efficiency gains

• There is opportunity to repurpose current budgets and

resources

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What specific Flexera Software configuration do I need

to deploy?

To satisfy the IBM sub-capacity reporting requirement, you

would deploy the following FlexNet Manager Suite products

(which were available in April, 2015):

1. FlexNet Manager Platform 2015

2. FlexNet Manager for IBM 2015

FlexNet Manager for IBM – New Option for Sub-cap

Reporting

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FlexNet Manager for IBM – Leveraging your Existing

Investments

Product Use Rights

Library

FlexNet Manager

for IBM

Optimized IBM License

Position

Hardware Inventory

Software Inventory

Application Usage

- ILMT

- TADd

- IEM SUA

Purchase Orders

Contracts

- ELAs

- PassPort

Advantage

Stock Keeping Unit

(SKU) Library

Application

Recognition

LibraryFlexNet Manager

Platform

Inventory

Data

Entitlement

Data

IBM License Compliance

Position

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FlexNet Manager for IBM Capabilities

• Supports a broad range of license models

• IBM PVU/RVU sub-capacity reporting alternative

• Provides license management and optimization

– For example, standby servers for IBM WebSphere Application Server

can be exempted, meaning they won’t consume a license

• Built on FlexNet Manager Platform

– Comprehensive Contract Management capability

– Extensive Analysis and Reporting capabilities

• Provides ‘What If’ Analysis for proactive license management

of complex datacenter server environments

• Its part of the broad FlexNet Manager Suite solution

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• IBM requires that FlexNet Manager Suite agents be used to do

discovery for sub-capacity reporting

• They will not accept data from third-party discovery agents.

• This only requires that you deploy the FlexNet Manager Suite agents

on your IBM servers.

• As is the case for ILMT, creating a valid sub-capacity consumption

report with FlexNet Manager Suite requires that the products be

correctly installed & configured and deployed to all relevant servers

and virtual machines.

Planning for FlexNet Manager for IBM

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• For customers to utilize FlexNet Manager for IBM data for

sub-capacity reporting, they will need contact their local

IBM account team. If they are not yet aware of this recent

announcement, they can contact the IBM Enterprise

License Management team. The ELM team is aware of

this new policy.

What do customers need to do?