No Downtime at all is close to impossible, but I made sure that downtime during normal working hours was down to 20 minutes during 12 months of operation. (12 hours a day/ 7 days a week / 52 weeks) and the 20 minutes downtime was a power failure.

Without proper Asset Management and without a complete inventory of the systems, users and software this would not have been possible.

Without completing the process, that is – make sure that all elements are included (and many pay little or no attention to  Software Asset Management)  - you will not be able to get it right.

So Facebook IT Operations – Count your servers and boot them. Check the installed Software and create emergency “work arounds”. Check your power lines and make sure that the power backup is in place. And get your systems up and running.

With limited information available the only way to go about the problem is to create a  step-by-step approach with  available information and with a little bit of luck you solve the issue.

First step is to google the application name, lets say “KPERF 2.0.2″. Google does not want to show me “KPERF 2.0.2″ results, displays  instead records related to “iPerf” , but as always offers an alternative (Search instead for) , which in this case is to search for the original string “KPERF 2.0.2″ Hmmmm.

I click again to search with the string I wanted to search with in the first place, and get a lot of results. Excellent, now I should be able to solve the problem quickly.

One of the results are from appdeploy.com, always offering to help, but seldom delivers what I want, correct publisher for an application.

One of the links looked promising, vistaheads.com – forum, shows that Kperf is use to measure connection speed on networks, well at least now I know what kind of application this is. But no information as to who the publisher is.

Next step is to google on Bing, where I find a  reference to the install package in one of the first links and kperf 2.0.2 is installed with an executable named “kperf_setup-2.0.2.exe” – the executable contains iperf and kperf 2.0.2.

By following the executable I finally get to the webpage of iPerf / kPerf and there I learn the the publisher is NLANR/DAST and it is a Soueceforge project. Case solved, and I can also inform anyone interested that the kperf is now available in a new version, 2.0.3.

Finding the publisher can be a time consuming and frustrating task, incomplete information about the application makes it very difficult for anyone working with Software Asset Management.

I think that a lot of the small publishers of software should take a critical look at their own website. I can with 100% certainty tell you – there is room for improvement, for many improvement big or improvement extended edition.

Take a good look at your websites, update the site at least once a year and make sure it is possible to find you. Maybe I want to buy something from you.

Regardless of the collection tool you use, you will find that a lot of records collected are incomplete and it may be quite a task to establish the correct information about the record. The record collected may even not represent the application itself, so identifying it may be a time consuming  task.

What do you need to establish a proper record for the software asset?

You will need to establish

Software publisher

Application name

Type

Licensing

So, to a practical example:

What on earth is ALISETUP?

When you are responsible for Software Asset Management one of your tasks is to identify the software installed on your system.

Regardless of the collection tool you use, you will find that a lot of records collected are incomplete and it may be quite a task to establish the correct information about the record. The record collected may even not represent the application itself, so identifying it may be a time consuming  task.

What do you need to establish a proper record for the software asset?

You will need to establish

Software publisher

Application name

Type

Licensing

So, to a practical example:

What is ALISETUP 0.1.0.52?

No install information, no publisher, no executable collected, no edition or language version. ALISETUP has to do with setup of a program, this is a readable piece of information –  by the name ALI – or it may also be an abbreviation for something.

So my assistant Google can perhaps help me, I google ALISETUP 0.1.0.52 and google returns some suggestions where to look for this piece of information. Sites about software and publishers, and I open the first link, only to find that I get nowhere with my search.

I then google Bing (google Bing?) and find better quality links andon first attempt I get the best clue;

FF – plugin: C:\Users\asus\AppData\Local\Alibaba\AliSetup\0.1.0.52\AliSetupOneClick.dll

So, Alisetup is part of an application called Alibaba, and FF – plugin means Firefox plugin, so the next step is to search for FF Plugin and Alibaba. Firefox returned 3 values, seems that Alibaba is a Chinese portal for export and trade and Alibaba is a search toolbar to use for this website, better still it was developed by Bruce Teng. So, by searching on Google and Bing, by combining the results I was able to find the correct publisher for the record of Alisetup.

One step further on the constant road of software identification.

In a project, you normally get one shot at it. It is the nature of a project to perform a process once or maybe a few times, hardly enough to audit and correct in an ongoing project, unless of course it is one of the supporting processes, like drawing approval, which are repeated again and again as the project moves along.
The people involved in your projects will have all levels of experience, ranging from beginner to experienced; this is just the nature of things.
This means that the more you can enforce the working processes, the less inexperienced personnel can cause problems for you with wrong working processes.
To manage the processes and make sure that everyone follows your procedures you need a tool that can make this happen.
With Project InVision you have a tool at your disposal where you can define all working processes and you can make sure that all work must be performed in accordance with the project quality procedures.
But Project InVision delivers more than a project process tool. It is also possible to use it for all the small and large working processes, which are not project related but still needs correct execution.
In short, this means, that when it comes to monitoring processes, there is only one tool on the market that can handle both worlds. you should consider, when you deal with both projects and everyday “work of the mill”. With Project InVision you can combine the PMBOK of best practices and any ISO 9000 working process.
When you start to define working processes to establish a company standard or maybe you already have it available, you will be able to set this up in Project InVision. By automating the working processes, you will be able to enforce a company standard and at the same you will reduce the necessary training for your staff in order to understand and follow the quality procedures. Teach them how to operate the system, the rest will then follow.

The copyright laws have no recommendations as how to manage your applications and ensure compliance. Some guidelines can be found in the licensing documents from software publishers, but do not expect much help from them. In fact, a lot the time the Software Asset Management problems helps the vendors to create a very good selling point. Based on statistics it is reasonable to assume that you are not on top of the situation.

And if you are not, now is the time to start doing something about this.

Software is expensive and since big money is involved you risk at any given time an audit from a publisher. The publisher knows a lot about your company, and they analyze their sales to you and compare it with statistics on your industry, number of employees, probable number of computers and servers and so on. They identify any statistical deficits very quickly and before you know it, you are up for an audit.

They don’t want to spend time and money on an audit where their statistical analyzes tells them that compliance is likely. They go for the deficits, because that is where the money is.

The only way to protect yourself is to make sure that there is order in your house.

Small or large companies, you need to go about the Software Asset Management task in a structured way.

For each application in use you have to establish

• Licensing requirements
• Number of users
• Installation of application (Where?)
• Integration of application if any(How?)
• Type of application
• Proof of ownership

In addition you should document control of media so you should not bypass the opportunity to create a good and structured media archive.

When the first impression of an IT department is CD’s and documentation lying around on desks and shelves it is very easy to assume that here there is no control and there is no compliance.

Media control is good housekeeping, media, licensing information and proof of ownership represents the values for your company.

Work smart

Traceability is a keyword for good Software Asset Management. I am sure you more than once you have spent time trying to locate a CD or a licensing key. With a good media archive you can achieve traceability; you will have control of all the various aspects of media administration.

With a good structure in place and some procedures in place to maintain it the days of wasting time on looking for media or licensing information is definitely over.

Secure the original media

It is your company’s property, so you have to secure the media and ensure access to it. When not in use lock it up. Make sure you have backup copies of software downloaded or installed from a memory stick. Especially small vendors have a nasty tendency of installing their special application from a memory stick, so you have to follow up on this issue.

When new equipment is delivered discs and the licensing information should be forwarded to you as soon as possible. Mark it, you may need it later if you dispose of the PC and need a valid OS license.

If it is an OEM installation, make sure in your procedures that a backup of the installation is done before any software is installed. This does in fact make a lot of sense; we are not only talking about the OS, but about drivers for the hardware.

Mark the media properly

Another aspect of the traceability is marking the media. Assign an asset key, so that when required you can easily document to steps from procurement to installation including proof of ownership.

An asset key also helps you to keep your archive in shape.

Documentation

How many copies of Windows OS documentation do you need? The most important part of the Windows OS Documentation is the license key. Keep the documentation incl. the license key in your archive, any media enclosed should also be filed.

If the documentation is available in electronic form, install it on a server and make it available for technical staff. Do not let original printed documentation lay around everywhere.

What to expect?

Every time you have to spend time locating a disc, a license string, documentation, a specific download you add unnecessary items to your workload. Structure helps you to perform your tasks quickly, in a professional manner. If an item has to be replaced because it cannot be located and you have to buy it again, it is money wasted. If you have to spend a day or two to find it, it is time wasted. With a good structure in place you will save a lot of time and reduce cost for replacement to zero.  A good structure will help you to complete your compliance efforts easily and your working day will change for the better.