If you Google “software inventory tools”, over 47 million results are returned. For those wanting to access their entire inventory of IT assets, within the 47 million results are a mix of free and paid-for tools that claim to the be answer to your inventory problems. What a dream it would be if you could plugin a clever piece of software that searched high and low, scouring your IT estate to find your software usage and associated licensing. Does a comprehensive discovery tool exist? Can it be deployed quickly and easily? Software might be able to identify what you are using, but can it tell if you have the correct licences?

Problems with tools arise at every juncture. It may be obvious that you have all the components Microsoft Office Suite installed, but what is actually being used, how often and by whom? Accurate metering (as it’s known) is vital at contract renewal and licence negotiations. Having all of the information at hand about the exact usage of software puts an organisation in a strong bargaining position. Not knowing is not good!

One question commonly asked is just how contemporary are modern inventory tools? In large organisations there are cloud-based systems, COTS, upgrades by end users, geographic differences… the list of variables goes on. The modern large enterprise is a complex place with disparate systems and trying to find every application, every user, and every licence is incredibly complicated. The tools available in the current market are woefully inadequate for the current software landscapes and constantly fail to live up to their sales pitch.

The options, at this point, are limited. Does one opt for a single inventory tool, knowing that it will most certainly miss parts of the estate and leave one open to potential fines for being under licensed? Or does one opt for a number of inventory tools, laboriously piecing together the results from each to try to create a comprehensive picture? Interrogating the entire software estate of an organisation is a very complicated process. Relying on a singular tool is foolish and utilising many is complicated. Without expertise in the software asset management process or the specialism of an external consultancy for assistance, a complete review of your software assets is complicated and costly.

The Livingstone way is to combine state-of-the-art inventory tools (and the experts to collate all the data), and the capabilities of our SAM consultants and engineers, who add comprehension and adaption to discovering your current and ongoing requirements. Outsourcing your software asset management to Livingstone allows us to take charge of your software estate, giving you control like you’ve never experienced before. Our consultants are so marvellous, our software so thorough, and our management so skillful, we have successfully circumvented audits on behalf of our clients. This is a direct result of the depth of the data we are able to provide to vendors. We carry out licence negotiations and are a deft hand, consistently saving considerable costs for licence renewals.

Livingstone Intelligent Software Asset Management are your SAM experts. We combine years of experience with the latest technology and the most competent SAM consultants in the industry. For an impartial insight into your software requirements, call any of our experts today.