Process of the Month – Named User Verification Process

Best practice

Process of the Month – Named User Verification Process

28 May 2014

4 minute read

Named User Licenses are typically not cheap

This is another area of Software Asset Management that often gets over-looked; namely the updating and maintaining of data concerning named user licenses. This could be viewed as another déjà vu moment; insofar as the core of the process involves comparing two sets of data from different systems and arriving at a series of business decisions. It is important to manage Named User Licenses for two primary reasons:

To stay the right side of license terms and conditions
Named User Licenses are typically not cheap; so there is value to be had in managing their deployment effectively

Named User Verification Process

Primary Objective

To maintain and correct (where required) Named User License information within the SAM Framework

Secondary Objective

To ensure that the rights of transfer and other license terms and conditions are adhered to, and also understood by the company.

Assumption

: Screenshot A

: Screenshot B

Function Step Overview

1.10	The HR Department are tasked with providing the latest possible HR data for further manipulation.
1.20	The next step involves filtering the HR data down to those staff who might be using Named User Licenses. For titles such as MSDN/Visual Studio, developers in the IT department would be an obvious choice; but for those members of staff who are using SAP (as an example) the boundaries are not so clear – guidance should be on offer from either the IT department or from Product Champions.
1.30	The SAM Manager is required to capture the names of those staff members who have been allocated Named Used licenses for subsequent comparison. Vendor portals can be helpful in this instance; equally a SAM Manager could be storing such data in their SAM Suite.
1.40	At this point the SAM Manager is required to compare the latest list of staff with the names of staff who have been allocated a Named User License. Four Reports should be forthcoming from this: New Named User Report – for those staff who might appear to be using named user software, but don’t appear to have a license allocated to their name. Changed Role Report – Again, if a member of staff has changed their role, and is perhaps gaining greater functionality out of a package than when the license was bought for them, then certain software will require a new license for that user. Changed Cost Center/Country Report – The SAM Manager will be required to analyse whether an existing Named User License covers the move that a member of staff has made, or whether a new purchase might have to be made. Left Company Report – The SAM Manager will be keen to get this report, so that if members of staff have left, then there is potential for the recycling/Transfer of Named User Licenses.
1.50	At this step, the SAM Manager takes reports 2 and 3, and subject to being allowed to by the license, updates or changes any fields pertaining to the use of those licenses in the license portal.
1.60	At this step, any ex-staff are purged from the license portal, and licenses can be starred for recycling at a later date.A third option exists for the SAM Manager, and that is to acquire new Licenses if he appears to have more users using the software than he has records/entitlement for.

Terms and conditions should always be followed in regards to transfer of Named User Licenses as these will vary from vendor to vendor. For those managers who look after staff who frequently leave, or are continually flouting the license terms and conditions, it might be worth generating a report around how staff movements and flux are causing the company to spend money.

Upcoming Process of the Month Articles:

Platform Identity Process
Software Request Process
Software Removal Process
Process Review Process

Image Credit

The process kit by Rory Canavan is available from SAMcharter.com

Process of the Month – Named User Verification Process