ManageSoft enhances Compliance Manager™
Complete software asset management for internal and external compliance needs
June 22, 2006 Boston, MA, USA
ManageSoft Corporation today announced ManageSoft® Compliance Manager™, an enterprise solution that tracks, monitors, and controls the compliance of software and hardware assets, delivering best practice software asset management for distributed enterprises, minimizing licensing costs, and lowering risk profiles.
A quantum leap from license management, Compliance Manager adds true asset management for software, including compliance reporting to meet internal policies, corporate IT governance, external audits, and regulatory requirements. ManageSoft Compliance Manager compares allocated licenses against installations, monitors software usage, maintains asset histories and costs, identifies unauthorized applications, and manages the multiple documents associated with software assets. In addition to improved regulatory and license compliance, companies can reap all the benefits of complete software asset management processes with ManageSoft Compliance Manager. According to Gartner , these include reducing virus and worm infections, increasing security, substantially improving staff productivity (by reducing downloads of games, music files, and other undesirable material), lowering support costs, and reducing purchase costs through site licensing and eliminating unnecessary software-as well as avoiding fines, damages, legal costs and the embarrassment of prosecution for license breaches.
"For too many organizations, software asset management is an unstructured process that results in increased risks and unnecessary expenses," said Michael Carabetta, Chief Executive Officer of ManageSoft. "ManageSoft Compliance Manager brings simplicity and control to the process. It helps enterprises understand what they have-and optimize asset allocation now, while accurately forecasting future requirements."
One large enterprise in three experiences at least one vendor audit a year, and according to Forrester, 38% face increasing internal and external compliance audits year-on-year. Legal and regulatory changes mean that IT managers must track license purchases, contracts, and leases, and deliver detailed and accurate information to auditors-fast! In addition, software is a significant corporate asset, worth 2-3 times the hardware it is installed on, and must be managed appropriately. The unique ManageSoft approach to software asset management focuses squarely on controlling these asset costs, rather than assuming the software is merely an add-on to the hardware asset.
Best-Practice Software Asset Management
ManageSoft Compliance Manager supports all four phases of best practice software asset management:
 Discover — Use ManageSoft to conduct a zero-touch software inventory of every networked asset in the enterprise. Optionally combine with data from Microsoft SMS, Active Directory, HR systems, purchasing systems, and financial asset management systems for baseline data.
Control — The ManageSoft Configuration Management Database (CMDB) links together all relevant data, including what software is on which hardware and who is using it. It helps enterprises document compliance, plan future license requirements, and calculate TCO (total cost of ownership).
Optimize — ManageSoft Compliance Manager helps reclaim unused licenses and provides data for adjusting maintenance contracts to save money.
Predict — With ManageSoft Compliance Manager, IT departments can proactively analyze, plan, and forecast future software needs and upgrades, anticipate license expirations, and retire non-productive assets.
Complete Integration with Microsoft SMS & Asset Management Tools
ManageSoft Compliance Manager provides the flexibility to integrate with Microsoft SMS and other management tools in place, leveraging inventory data already collected to create and update complete asset records. Its built-in software recognition library automatically recognizes inventory data collected from executable files, Add/Remove Programs entries, and Windows Installer (.msi) database entries, and maps them to a broad list of known application titles, constructing an accurate enterprise-wide inventory of licensable software. The centralized CMDB means that Compliance Manager can leverage software and hardware inventory collected even by multiple asset management tools to determine compliance across an enterprise.
Platforms and Availability
ManageSoft Compliance Manager supports all the Windows platforms supported by Microsoft SMS, and extends asset management across legacy Windows, Linux, UNIX, and Macintosh OSX. As well, ManageSoft can extend asset management to those remote and mobile users currently beyond the reach of other asset management offerings. Compliance Manager is available immediately from ManageSoft Corporation and its distributors and authorized resellers.
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