Product F.A.Q.
Q. What makes Software Organiser so different when compared to software asset management suites?
A1. Software Organiser is designed to add proven licence management and reconciliation capabilities to existing software asset management suites. Eliminating the need to invest in and deploy a new suite of tools.
A2. Software Organiser has been designed by practising software licensing and compliance professionals since 2003.
Q. Do we need software audit data before we can use Software Organiser?
No definitely not. We actively encourage our customers to start collecting and cataloguing proof of licensing documentation in Software Organiser as soon as possible - this is your best defence in the event of a vendor audit.
Q. What size of organisations uses Software Organiser?
A. All sizes really. We have customers with over one hundred thousand PCs and customers with one hundred PCs. We designed scalability into Software Organiser when we first designed it in 2003.
Q. Which edition is right for us?
A. That depends on your objectives, if at least one of your objectives is to...
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implement Software Organiser as part of an ongoing software asset management process i.e. business as usual
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involve staff from other departments and control their Software Organiser access rights
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integrate Software Organiser with other software asset management systems
...then Team SAM edition is right for your organisation. Otherwise Licensing & Compliance edition is good, unless you’re an IT service provision company then you need Service Provider edition.
Q. What does the standard support package offer?
A. Every new customer is provided with the following support for the initial year...
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Installation and deployment planning
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General product usage enquiries
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Help with vendor software licensing scenarios and how to record them in Software Organiser
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Product updates
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An online introductory training session
Existing customers can renew their support agreement at 20% of the current product cost.
We are committed to helping our customers get a measurable return from their investment in Software Organiser. You can call support or send us an email; calls will be answered promptly and your request dealt with in a professional manor. We do not use call automation or call routing systems.
Q. Does Software Organiser include a discovery / audit tool?
No. Software Organiser is a unique software compliance and licence document management tool designed to import software audit data from any discovery tool.
Q. Why should I use Software Organiser and not the compliance functionality in my discovery tool?
It’s a case of horses for courses -would you hire a painter to rewire your home? Software licence management and reconciliation is a complex discipline in its own right. Software Organiser’s functionality has been developed by software licensing professionals who have proactively delivered software licensing projects and vendor audits - for over 15 years.
Q. We have licensing data in a spreadsheet; can this be used in Software Organiser?
Yes. We can import it for you, or you can import it yourself via a template we can provide.
Q. We reviewed our software audit data and its needs a serious tidy up; how do we do this?
A. Discovery tools rarely provide software installation data suitable for licence reconciliation. However Software Organiser provides all the tools you need to transform this data mountain into fit for purpose installation information. Alternatively our partners offer a range of one-off or ongoing audit data conditioning services.
Other compliance related frequently asked questions...
Q. Can software licence management and compliance be automated?
A. The right technology can assist tremendously - but please remember that effective software asset management is a process requiring good personal judgement, knowledge and assistance from other departments – these qualities cannot be productised. Be wary of those who state otherwise.
Q. We are about to be audited by a software publisher / vendor and have no licensing entitlement or usage data -what should we do?
Inform your Board immediately. Estimate the risk and rectification costs then report back to your Board.
But how? Typically, responding to an audit is severely constrained by time and resources. The common mistake is to spend the majority of this time making sense of discovery/audit data. Instead use the time to find your licensing entitlement documentation, electronic or hardcopy, for products developed by the pursuing Publisher / Vendor then catalogue them. Familiarise yourself with the vendors licensing T&Cs.
Estimate installs and CAL* requirements based on sampling, standard build analysis and local knowledge. Quickly reconcile licensing entitlement with installs and CALs then estimate the rectification costs. Present the estimated rectification costs asap to your Board. Expect a rough ride. Use the experience to justify the introduction of ongoing / BAU licence management processes.
*Client Access Licences or CALs are often overlooked – but not by the auditor. Rectification revenue from CALs often makeup a significant part of the overall audit rectification cost / fine.