Acresso Extends Software Usage Monitoring and Reporting Capabilities to Virtually Any Enterprise Application

Published 6th January 2009

FLEXnet Manager version 12 delivers up to 30 per cent savings on software spend by optimising license utilisation; compliance risks also reduced

January 6, 2009 – Acresso Software today announced FLEXnet Manager software usage monitoring capabilities have been extended to include enterprise applications and back-office software, such as Oracle databases, giving enterprise IT a far more accurate picture of their organisations’ use. Part of the FLEXnet Manager Suite, additional key features include improved reporting through Cognos-based analytics, enabling organisations to make more informed allocation, planning and purchasing decisions. With these powerful tools, FLEXnet Manager users have recognised a savings of upwards of 30 per cent through better management of software license use and also avoided costly audits and unexpected bills by monitoring compliance with vendor agreements.

A recent report from Gartner reinforces the importance of a license optimisation solution. “A holistic approach to ITAM that will yield short- and long-term savings, as well as cost avoidance, necessitates a strategy that includes a software usage tool. Enterprises that implement software usage monitoring capabilities will achieve savings of five to twenty-five percent in the first year. After the first full cycle of contract renegotiations, the savings will likely stabilise at two to three percent in subsequent years,” notes Patricia Adams in Gartner’s report titled “Cost Cutting by Effectively Using Existing Software,” published in early 2008.

For example, an IT organisation that is spending £10 million in software licenses and maintenance annually could save between £3.6 and £13.4 million over a five-year period by not having to purchase new licenses or renegotiating maintenance to reflect the lower usage count.

However, many companies have yet to manage their application and datacentre spending on actual usage. The 2008 Key Trends in Software Pricing and Licensing study* revealed that enterprise IT organisations report a low level of certainty about the software they are entitled to use — 45 per cent of enterprises indicated there is some level of license over-use, revealing non-compliance, and 78 per cent indicated there is some level of application under-use, exposing the issue of shelfware. The survey further reported slow progress on behalf of these enterprises to successfully manage and track license usage information.

To view the complete survey results, please visit: www.acresso.com/2008survey.

“As the survey results show, companies are becoming aware of the options to reduce overspending and manage future spending more carefully,” said Roger Bottum, senior vice president of marketing for Acresso. “Without a solution like FLEXnet Manager, the effort required to better manage complex entitlements outweighs the benefits—so many enterprises instead continue to renew inefficient contracts and end up spending much more than they need.”

FLEXnet Manager is the only solution to offer the flexibility to monitor, manage, and report on the usage of a broad range of high-value software investments. To date, FLEXnet Manager Suite has monitored license usage for thousands of applications, including SAP and most PLM and EDA applications, across key business segments. In fact, eight of the world’s top 10 aerospace and defence providers, half of the top 12 semiconductor manufacturers and half of the world’s top ten oil and gas companies use FLEXnet Manager. With 20 years of experience as the makers of FLEXnet—the licensing technology embedded in 8,000 applications—Acresso is uniquely capable of providing organisations access to the most complete and meaningful insight into FLEXenabled software usage.

* The survey was conducted by Acresso with SoftSummit, the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), the Centralised Electronic Licensing User Group (CELUG) and Electronic Design and Automation Council (EDAC).