Because virtualization severs the direct software-hardware connection, many license models still widely used today become liabilities in virtual environments, resulting in non-compliance and/or sky-high license fees.

What CIOs need to know is that both of these risks can be avoided. CIOs need to make sure their data center specialists work with IT License Procurement Managers to figure out the best possible virtualization solution for the company’s software usage needs.

Even if you already have discovery, scanning, CMDB tools in place, they do not generate all of the information you need to determine your licensing needs and compliance position. The data generated by these systems needs to be normalized. Software asset management modules from CA, IBM, HP, and BMC are also not enough.

An entitlement-centric software license management solution can track and manage licenses in virtual and physical environments. The embedded knowledge of contract and license terms and conditions (in the SKU catalog) allows it to thoroughly detect if software is being used/deployed in accordance with the product use rights.

Take Microsoft’s server products for example: higher-end versions of Windows Server 2008 include licenses for additional virtual instances of the software on the same CPU (Windows Virtual Server). An entitlement-centric tool will classify multiple virtual instances of Windows Server 2008 on one physical host as properly licensed, because it knows the product use rights in the license.

In contrast, discovery, scanning, CMDB, and even other software asset management solutions, that cannot normalize the entitlement and installation data, assume that the virtual instances of Windows Server 2008 represent individual, physical installations. This leads to an incorrect report on the software usage and a misleading license compliance analysis. The result: assigning licenses to machines that don’t need them or paying for additional licenses you don’t need.

The “do more with less” mantra isn’t going to change. It’s time IT got the recognition as a business driver that it deserves. An entitlement-centric software license management tool is designed to squeeze every cent out of the licenses you purchase and help you mitigate legal and financial risks and improve cash flow.

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