Successfully Implement Software Asset Management

[Shane H]

Software Application Catalog Overview

Software Asset Management (SAM) provides Employee Experience customers with normalized application usage. To implement Software Asset Management (SAM) successfully, you need to focus on mapping your applications correctly. This process ensures that the data collected from different sources is accurately linked to the standardized list of applications in the Software Application Catalog. The catalog is global across all of our customers and includes over 300+ end-user applications. The catalog will continue to grow as new applications are identified.

The normalized app list is created by joining the App Activity and UEM tables -

• App Activity: The agents that are deployed on MacOS and Windows collect app foreground events.
• UEM: UEM is the management vehicle that provides device and app inventory data.

Implement SAM

1. Notify: contact your account and product management teams that you want to implement SAM.
2. Initial Automatic Mapping: When SAM is enabled, your environment automatically benefits from the pre-existing mappings in the global Software Application Catalog.
3. Identify Important Applications: Provide a list of productivity applications that are important for tracking usage across your organization. This list should include applications your team manages daily, important renewals, and any other applications you deem critical.
4. Data Review: Work with your account and product management teams to review the UEM Apps, App Activity, and Software Application Catalog. This collaboration ensures accurate mapping between the Package ID (from UEM), App Name (collected by the agent), and the corresponding entry in the Catalog.
5. Publish Catalog Updates: The updates and additions to the catalog are published to the global Software Application Catalog via our standard release cycle.

Why Mapping is Crucial

Mapping is essential for SAM to function effectively because:

• It allows SAM to accurately identify and normalize application data from various sources, such as Employee Experience agents and UEM. This ensures that all instances of a specific application are grouped, even if there are variations in naming conventions or versions.
• It enables SAM to track application usage across your environment comprehensively. You can then identify unused or underutilized applications, understand adoption trends, and make informed decisions about software licensing.

Timeline

• The initial mapping process typically takes about four weeks from review to updating the master Catalog.
• Mapping accuracy directly impacts SAM's ability to identify and track application usage, making it critical to the solution's success.
• Once the new version of the Software Applications Catalog is published then the usage metrics will be tracked for new and updated applications.

Validate Mappings with Reports

You can validate mappings in your environment by using specific reports within the Intelligence → Product Catalog section. These reports let you verify which applications are mapped, identify any unmapped applications, and understand the mapping details.

The sources list several reports you can use to validate your current mapping in your environment:

• Product Catalog
  • Data Source: Intelligence → Product Catalog
  • This report provides you with a list of all the normalized apps within your environment. You can add new applications during the mapping process.
• Mapped Employee Experience Apps
  • Data Source: Intelligence → Product Catalog Mapping Employee Experience
  • This report allows users to view the App Name field (App Activity App Name) that is mapped to the Product Name in the Software Application Catalog.
• Mapped UEM Apps
  • Data Source: Intelligence → Product Catalog Mapping UEM
  • This report allows users to view the Product Source Value field (UEM App Name) that is mapped to the Product Name in the Software Application Catalog.
• Unmapped Apps
  • Data Source: Intelligence → App Activity
  • This report includes columns from App Activity, Product Catalog, and Product Catalog Mapping Employee Experience. Filter on the Product Identifier (Product Catalog) is Null / Blank then add the field to the report.

By carefully implementing SAM and focusing on accurate catalog mapping, you can effectively track application usage, optimize software licensing, and make data-driven decisions about your software assets.

We are continually striving to enhance the product. Please share your comments, ideas, and questions regarding SAM.

Shane Hetrick

Product Line Manager - Software Asset Management

 

Want to test this out and see what it’s all about?

• SAM is a Limited Availability offering.
• Pre-requirements
  • Employee Experience.
  • Managed devices in UEM.
  • Agents deployed on the device. If have not done this yet then you will need to deploy the agents to get app activity data.
• To enable SAM - contact your Omnissa account team or complete this sign up form for me to respond direct to you.
• Our team will be in contact to set up a 30 minute demo of SAM.