Certero are a vendor and supplier of products and solutions for: IT Asset Management (ITAM), Software Asset Management (SAM) and Software License Optimization and Entitlement (SLOE). Complimented by tailored services, our mission is to provide the best solutions that work individually and holistically together, seamlessly and optimally on a single platform – AssetStudio.
The AssetStudio platform consists of a number of products designed to solve a specific software asset management problem. It covers the entire IT estate, including: mobiles & tablets, laptops & desktops, servers, datacentre and the Cloud. Across all the major software environments: Microsoft Windows & Apple Mac OS, IBM, SAP, Oracle and UNIX/Linux.
Reduced complexity, cost and resources
It is currently estimated that on average, 70% of a software asset manager’s time is spent collating, interpreting and analyzing data from various sources. This leaves only 30% to actually act upon the knowledge, perform software optimization tasks and drive forward the software asset management agenda within the organization.
Now, with a single, holistic source of hardware and software asset information, with integrated reporting transforming data into useful knowledge, managers can access the information they require in seconds.
Developed from a single vision, the AssetStudio software asset management platform:
• Takes feeds from all the major ITAM solutions
• Gives a single unified data source for all software asset management
• Delivers a common modern graphical user interface across the entire platform
• Offers rich integrated reporting and business intelligence to quickly find the information you need
A new Microsoft Licensing option was recently announced by the Redmond giant that combines the latest technology across Windows, Office 365, Enterprise mobility and security. A new SKU offers a licensing solution across enterprise security, productivity, analytics and...
Due to the complex nature of the Oracle environment and licensing terms it is very easy to unwittingly find yourself non-compliant and liable for additional license costs as well as potential fines. In the first of 2 blog articles, we have outlined some of the most...
Many organizations implement SAM as a defensive measure to ensure they do not receive a nasty surprise at the time of a vendor audit. Although this makes good business sense, it should not be the only reason why you do it, as the cost savings alone can provide a very...
Oracle have hundreds of different products on many different platforms but broadly split them into two categories – technology products and applications. Whilst there are many categories of technology products, for the purposes of this article we will be looking at...
As if the licensing agreements of the likes of Oracle, SAP and Microsoft were not complicated enough already, many user organizations fall foul of something called indirect usage and end up owing significant amounts as a result of licensing non-compliance. Indirect...
In all likelihood you will have many hundreds (if not thousands) of installed software titles across your organization. Each of these could have different versions installed as well as possibly being part of a suite (as opposed to stand-alone) or even named...
In a previous article we looked at the issues surrounding IT asset discovery and inventory. Here, we are presuming that you have managed to address these and are now aiming to better control and manage your assets. The major issue here is around processes, so this is...
The old adage ‘if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it’, has never been more true than with regard to IT asset management (ITAM). The implications of not being able to accurately measure what hardware and software you have installed extend far beyond basic ITAM...
With the worldwide spend on software due to hit $356 billion in 2017 (according to Gartner), the need to properly control and manage this expense is paramount. In the past IT departments have typically focussed on managing the hardware as this has been a much bigger...
In our second blog on the benefits of SAM we will be looking at how it can help to reduce costs across the organization. The first article on managing risks can be found here. Cost reduction (along with compliance) is typically cited as a major factor for investing in...
Your SAP system already records a large proportion of the data that is necessary to produce your Effective License Position (ELP). This includes details of all your: SAP systems SAP system users Roles, assigned roles and authorizations This information needs to be...
In the first of 2 blog articles we are going to look at the benefits of implementing a SAM program in your organization. We will look at how it can help in reducing costs in the next article, but this one will focus on risk mitigation. Risk is usually the one area...
It has been widely reported by Gartner research director Stephen White, that Adobe is stopping license audits in Europe. This follows on from similar decisions made in America and Asia/Pacific last November. Adobe confirmed that it will maintain audit/ compliance...
The title of this article may seem an odd question. After all, what risks can there be with using software, it’s not like you are handling explosives? Well, the fact is that your software is an asset and like all assets needs to be properly managed. If it is not, then...
With SCCM being offered free (or at heavily discounted rates) to volume licensing customers, it is a popular choice for inventory and distribution. We looked at the problems of software inventory with SCCM in an earlier article So here we are going to look at some of...
The SAP software licensing model is considered to be amongst the most complex and costly to manage. While many software vendors typically calculate their license fees by counting the number of active and inactive users, or by considering the number of servers and...
If you are looking at saving money and reducing the CO2 emissions of your organization, PC power management is a good place to start. Your IT energy consumption will have increased greatly over the last few years and PCs and laptops are reckoned to make up 39% of all...
With Asia Pacific having the highest overall rate of unlicensed software (61%) of anywhere in the world, it is no surprise to see the BSA very active in Australia. Twenty per cent of users in Aus’ are reckoned to be utilizing unlicensed software, this despite the...
With SAM becoming ever more important to many organizations, it has seen the increase of independent consultants offering to come in to your business and utilize any existing SAM tool and processes to produce an ELP. Whilst this tool agnosticism is sold as a good...
Econocom and Certero sign strategic partnership to deliver license management solution for SAP and IBM environments across Spain, Portugal and Andorra. Econocom Group, a key player in the European market for digital services for businesses, has become the first...
Shadow IT – IT devices, software and services outside the ownership or control of IT – is growing. Whilst there are obvious disadvantages to this, organizations need to view it as a wakeup call from employees who find their IT provisioning too slow and cumbersome to...
An ELP, whilst an important step in developing a SAM plan, is a static document. The production of your ELP will typically have involved creating a baseline that includes: Standardizing software titles - so everyone has the same version Centralizing software...
Although, in many organizations, the IT function will ultimately report into the CFO, this does not mean that many CFOs are required to be aware of the detail of what IT actually does. It may be traditionally acceptable for a CFO to ensure that expenditure is on...
Once you have an accurate inventory of your software and calculated your entitlement you now need to match up your licenses to your software. Matching licenses to installed software sounds like a fairly simple process. However, this can be a time consuming and...
Leading UK law firm, Pennington Manches, recently carried out an analysis of the case of 118 Data Resource Limited v IDS Data Services Limited & others. This case covered an audit clause in a database license agreement, but has implications for any software vendor...
When first implementing a SAM program you will in all likelihood need to prioritize which vendors you will initially focus your activities on. This is because you are likely to have many tens (if not hundreds) of different software titles being used across your...
If you are a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA) customer you will probably already appreciate the advantages it gives you with regard to licensing flexibility when you deploy new hardware and software. But, as it is a trust-based contract, it requires certain...
Software licensing agreements, typically called EULAs are probably one of the most boring documents you will ever have to read. But, it is important that you do, as the devil is in the detail and the repercussions of not doing so expensive. If you are one of those...
Controlling the purchase and installation of your software is obviously a necessary first step in a SAM programme, but it is important that you don’t stop there. It is vital that you understand how your software is being used across the organization as this will...
Based on the ISO framework and the SAM processes standard, ISO/IEC 19770-1, Microsoft has developed a SAM Optimization Model that seems to have been adopted in various forms across the SAM industry. This model provides a set of criteria to make consistent SAM...
The mobile devices in your organization (both corporate owned and BYOD) will in all likelihood now contain a wealth of sensitive corporate data. So, it is now more important than ever to ensure that this data remains safe and secure. One way in which this can be done...
So you’ve gone to a lot of hard work and finally achieved the nirvana of an Effective License Position (ELP), so what now? The fact is that your ELP is a static, point-in-time document that is really only the start point on your SAM journey. You now need greater...
Virtualization offers a great way to cut costs but is fraught with potential licensing time bombs that could incur expense greater than the original savings. This is particularly so in the Oracle world due to Oracle’s very tight definition as to what it recognizes as...
Many people are aware of the benefits of implementing SAM in terms of cost savings and license compliance but not so many consider the beneficial impact on IT security. The necessary processes and information collected from a good SAM program will by definition...
The creation of an effective license position (ELP) is only the first step on your SAM journey. Whilst the ELP will help you maintain compliance, it will not actively help you reduce licensing costs, which is an important factor in ensuring a ROI on your SAM...
We have noticed that here seems to be an increasing misunderstanding in the market about certain vendor tools being ‘certified’ by Oracle, IBM and Microsoft. Whether this is through genuine mistake or a deliberate attempt to misrepresent the facts, we don’t know. But...
The IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) is designed to help IBM Passport Advantage customers determine their full and sub-capacity processor value units (PVU) licensing requirements. It helps calculate the number of PVUs available to installed Passport Advantage PVU-based...
A new bill working its way through the legislative process is aiming to save the US Government hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary software licensing expenditure. With both Democrats and Republicans backing it, it is planning to make federal agencies...
The issues that organizations are facing in the area of software lifecycle management that are causing them to consider a corporate app store to help them better manage and control their software assets include: Increasing diversity of devices connecting to the...
Many organizations today are still getting to grips with the licensing implications of virtualized technologies such as VDI, Citrix and Terminal Services, where instead of being simplified, controlling licensing often becomes much more complex and high-risk as the...
The ability to perform comprehensive network discovery to identify everything on your network is vital. You need to discover all your network devices and ensure that all valuable assets that represent a cost to the business are identified. This is necessary in...
If you have been tasked with taking control of software licensing for your organization you will probably have been faced with many acronyms: ITAM, SAM, SLO & SLOE to name but a few! Digging deeper into the exact definition of these will probably not help you much...
Like it or not the mobile device revolution is changing the way we work. Organizations that embrace smartphones and tablets into their overall IT strategy can establish significant competitive advantages through improved customer service and cost efficiencies. If you...
We recently carried out a survey of our PowerStudio customers in the NHS. With over 40% of NHS Trusts now using our award winning power-saving software solution (some for many years); we wanted to get an idea as to how much we were saving the NHS, both in cash terms...
SAP licensing is widely accepted to be one of the most complex models of all the major vendors. Unlike other vendors SAP bases its licensing on usage, but just to add to the complexity, doesn’t always explicitly and unambiguously define usage. One of the key metrics...
A recent survey by Skycure, focused on Medicare, highlighted the increasing risk of attack to mobile devices used by doctors. Although the report is mainly US based the same problems will no doubt exist worldwide and lessons can be learned for all healthcare...
Depending on the complexity and time it took to inventory your software and match licenses, you may at this stage want to review and possibly implement a few policies and procedures to make software asset management a little easier going forward. These can include:...
Once you have an accurate inventory of your software and calculated your entitlement you now need to match up your licenses to your software. Matching licenses to installed software sounds like a fairly simple process. However, this can be a time consuming and...
When you are implementing SAM in your organization you will be faced with many challenges. Broadly these can be grouped into three categories: Hardware inventory, software license entitlement and organizational Hardware inventory challenges Today’s IT environment is...
Basically the benefits of BYOD fall into 3 main areas: cost, productivity and employee morale. Let’s look at each of these in turn. Cost Implementing a BYOD policy delivers savings to organizations by reducing the overall cost of having to purchase mobile devices....
Something we are hearing more and more is just how unsatisfied customers are with their current incumbent SAM tool vendor or SAM services provider, the common theme being the level of after-sales support they receive for their SAM solution. The trouble is that often...
One of the key steps on the road to reaching an optimized software license position is undertaking a baseline review to enable you to achieve an Effective License Position (ELP) for a specific software vendor and its products. Typically, many organizations utilize the...
Many organizations understand the need to effectively manage their software in the desktop environment but overlook software in the datacentre. According to Gartner, 80% of software spend takes place within the datacentre, so managing it is vital. But, due to the...
A recent survey of the top 50 US counties by IAITAM has revealed that few require across-the-board installation of MDM software on the mobile devices they have issued to employees. IAITAM CEO Dr Barbara Rembiesa said, “The truth is most government agencies and...
More and more Microsoft customers are moving from a device-based Office license to a user-based one via Office 365. This gives the organization a number of benefits but also some challenges in relation to the use and maintenance of the software. The Office portion of...
Any organization undergoing a merger, acquisition or divestiture (MAD) should undertake due-diligence in respect to their hardware and software assets. This is necessary to understand the impact on its business and any potential risk they may be exposing themselves...
With more than 20,000 products and over 250 different licensing metrics, IBM software licensing is one of the most complex tasks in the market today. With so many licensing metrics it is impossible to give a full understanding of the task in one short article. So here...
Building a SLOE program for your organization costs money, but doing nothing also costs money – probably more so! Like any investment you need to make a sound business case to get the go-ahead. This will likely involve educating the budget holders about the risks and...
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) is widely used for discovery and inventory, of hardware and software, in the Windows environment. It can also be used for software deployment and removal, again only on the Windows platform. These capabilities are...
There are a number of factors that prevent organizations adopting a SAM program and typically these involve senior management within the company. These can range from having higher priorities to not really understanding the opportunities SAM can generate. The only way...
A key stage in implementing a SAM program is discovering the hardware and software assets you have in your organization. Without an accurate and comprehensive inventory, the results of your subsequent SAM-based activities will be severely restricted. 5 key attributes...
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