SAM Tools New Product Release: License Analyzer

This tool is a new (July 9, 2012) offering from a company named License Dashboard, the same company that created License Manager. License Manger is a popular SAM tool  covered in the ITAM Review of SCCM plug-ins. License Analyzer is a product designed for companies that are new to SAM. Remember, there are various approaches for implementing SAM. Generally, the first thing that needs to be determined is the organization’s license position. A complete SAM program could be justified based on an organization’s license position for key software publishers. This scaled-down product offers organizations an easy method of managing licenses (including entitlements) in one central location. If you have another tool, such as  ConfigMgr, reporting from License Analyzer can be compared to software usage, then a license position can be determined. This product offers a lower price point than most and direct upgrade path to a more robust product (License Manger) in the future if desired.

One point to be clear about, the press release boasts about providing at-a-glance license position but I’m not sure how this can be offered. License Analyzer doesn’t appear to inventory the computers in the environment. I went to the product website and opened the datasheet but couldn’t find any integration with ConfigMgr or any other product.

Key features include:

1. Seamless import and centralization of software licenses: License Analyzer offers four import options to ensure that centralizing and consolidating software licenses couldn’t be easier or faster.

2. Powerful vendor-specific dictionaries: Unlike other solutions on the market, License Analyzer is much more than a static license repository. With vendor-specific software dictionaries updated every single day (supporting nearly 10,000 vendors and more than 350,000 applications), License Analyzer not only stores software licenses, it also validates them as well – ensuring that recorded entitlements are in-line with software vendor’s catalogs and conditions.

3. At-a-glance license position: License Analyzer not only collects all individual licenses into a single, centralized location, it also has the ability to automatically aggregate license entitlements (by both organization and business unit), giving a full picture of the organization’s overall licensing position.

4. Future-proof license management: License Analyzer offers a seamless upgrade path to License Manager, License Dashboard’s advanced software asset management solution. All of the license entitlement information collated in the License Analyzer database can be retained and used by License Manager to reconcile against software usage, allowing businesses to cut their software spend, manage software procurement and respond instantly to software audit requests.

Have a look a the Software Asset Management @myITforum category to view more SAM articles.