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Define Key Metrics to Measure the Success of Software Licensing Optimization Programs

Featured Article from Software Licensing

Define Key Metrics to Measure the Success of Software Licensing Optimization Programs

 
November 16, 2016

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  By Laura Stotler, TMCnet Contributing Editor

Businesses competing in today’s software space face a number of challenges when it comes to properly licensing, managing and optimizing their solutions. And even those that implement programs to maximize licensing often don’t follow up with a structured plan for measuring the outcomes of their program. That common mistake can lead to lost revenues, customer frustration and general inefficiencies across the board.


According to Flexera Software, a company that specializes in software licensing management and optimization, having a program in place to measure outcomes throughout a solution’s lifecycle is absolutely critical to success. The company suggests that software producers define metrics for desired outcomes and results and manage and monitor those metrics throughout the software asset management and optimization process. By pinpointing key performance indicators early on in the process, organizations can truly measure the performance and outcomes of their programs.

Metrics categories may include input data metrics, the raw information about IT hardware and software assets that is generally contained in a central asset management database (AMDB). This data is used to assess the trustworthiness of asset data and to pinpoint data gaps and areas requiring improvement.

Operational metrics are used to measure the operational performance of software license management and optimization. These include instances like the percentage of application installations not used within a certain number of days, the average number of different versions deployed for each application and the number of installations of applications with known security vulnerabilities.

The final category, financial metrics, is used to measure outcomes from license management and optimization programs as they relate to the value or cost to the organization. These include variables like the value of software installations proactively removed, the value of unlicensed deployments identified and remediated and the number of security incidents occurring because of software vulnerabilities within a specific timeframe.

At the end of the day, it’s not enough to simply deploy a software licensing, management and optimization program if there is no system in place to measure its outcomes. By defining key metrics for the lifecycle of the program, businesses can glean the most value out of their programs while pinpointing problem areas requiring improvement. For more information, download Flexera’s free whitepaper “The Foundation of a Successful ITAM Program – In 5 Not So Easy Steps.”




Edited by Alicia Young

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