Tag: Software licensing

The real costs of being out of compliance with your software licenses

Posted by at 9:29 AM

When it comes to software licensing compliance, manufacturers are stepping up their game. All the major software vendors are ramping up their audit frequency. Gartner and other industry pundits have noted this acceleration for the last few years, and there doesn’t appear to be any slackening of the pace. Just as notable, software vendors are also increasing the intensity of their audits, digging deeper and harder into some of the areas in which they’ve traditionally given customers some leeway.

Most of the penalties a customer can suffer from a manufacturer audit are not immediately apparent or quantifiable. Nonetheless, there are very real costs for poor software license governance and manufacturer audits. They include: Continue Reading…

Get Intune with Microsoft licensing and desktop optimization

Posted by at 2:44 PM

SHI Microsoft Webinar Series

With the weather heating up, both the spring season and our Microsoft Spring 2013 Webinar Series are rapidly coming to an end. But don’t fret, we still have two more webinars lined up, and we’d love for you to attend.

Why? Because the webinars are focused on optimizing your desktops and getting you Intune with Microsoft licensing (I Azure you it’s easy).

Microsoft Online Services: Intune and Azure
Two topics, twice the pun fun. First, learn how Windows Intune can help you support your organization’s BYOD initiatives and a range of platforms, including Windows RT, Windows 8, iOS, and Android, without adding infrastructure. Then discover how to quickly build, deploy, and manage applications across a global network of Microsoft-managed data centers with Windows Azure.

When: Tomorrow, May 23 at 2 p.m. EDT

Optimize the Desktop
In SHI’s last webinar of the season, we’ll show you how to achieve the right balance in desktop infrastructure — one that gives your employees the flexibility they need to be productive, while providing IT with the level of control, manageability, and security it requires.

When: Thursday, June 6 at 2 p.m. EDT

Registration for both webinars is open now. If you’re unable to attend either of these sessions, or if you missed any of our previous Microsoft webinars, don’t worry. Recordings of all past webinars are available in our archive.

Now it’s your turn. What questions about Microsoft products and/or licensing do you have? Are there specific topics you’d like us to cover in our next webinar series? If you’ve attended any of our webinars, what can we do to improve your experience?

Please drop us a line in the comments section below, and share this post with anyone who could use help in choosing, acquiring, deploying, or managing Microsoft technology. Thank you, and have a #Likeable day!

Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions: What IT needs to know

Posted by at 3:50 PM

Wave goodbye to the Adobe Creative Suite. On Monday at its MAX conference, Adobe announced that it’ll abandon updates to perpetual licensing for CS and push all its chips behind its Creative Cloud applications.

Creative Cloud, introduced last year, delivers all the applications from Creative Suite, eliminating the shrink wrap and box, and replacing perpetual licenses with a subscription-based model. Here’s everything you need to know about Creative Cloud, what the change means for you, and what you can do about it.

What the shift to Creative Cloud means for customers Continue Reading…

Learn about Microsoft licensing in upcoming SHI Microsoft webinars

Posted by at 10:52 AM

SHI Microsoft Webinar Series

You want the simplest, most cost-effective way to acquire the latest Microsoft technology. Don’t we all?

Do you work for a corporate, academic, charitable, or government organization that prefers to pay for software as you go? Or are you with a small-to-midsize business that wants more control over your investment and access to training, deployment planning, software upgrades, and product support?

Either way, the next webinar in our Microsoft Spring 2013 Webinar Series, “Open Value and Open Business,” is for you. We’ll cover the Microsoft Open Value and Open Business programs from head to toe so you can decide which is the best fit for your organization. Check out this feature comparison chart to get started.

It starts today at 2 p.m. EDT. Simply use these log in credentials to join:

Join online: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/shi2/join
Meeting ID: G673PH
Entry Code: 2{@kTW9
Call in US/Canada: 877.866.2469
Conference ID: 88386838

Then, come back later this month on April 25 for a webinar on the Microsoft Enrollment for Application Platform (EAP) and Enrollment for Core Infrastructure (ECI). In this session you’ll learn about licensing SQL Server, BizTalk Server (Microsoft recently changed the BizTalk Server licensing model), SharePoint Server, Visual Studio, Windows Server, and System Center, and discover how you can realize additional savings. Sign up by scrolling down to #11.

Want to join these webinars but aren’t available on those dates? Don’t worry. We’ll record the sessions and post the files online for you to watch at your convenience. Or feel free to ask us any questions by leaving a comment below.

Did I mention we’re also raffling off an Xbox 360 after each webinar?

Microsoft makes changes to BizTalk Server licensing model

Posted by at 8:45 AM

Earlier this week, Microsoft introduced BizTalk Server 2013 and with it, a new licensing model. Instead of the per-processor licensing model customers had grown accustomed to, BizTalk Server 2013 is now being offered in a new core-based licensing model. This change aligns very closely with the licensing changes applied to SQL Server 2012 last year.

Here are some of the highlights:

  • Enterprise, Standard, and Branch Server licenses will be sold in 2-Core Licensing Packs. So, pricing for a single-processor license under the old model is equivalent to four core licenses under the new model. Customers deploying BizTalk Server 2013 on machines with more than four cores in each processor will end up paying more.
  • To license a physical server, you must license all the cores on that server. There is a minimum of four core licenses required for each physical processor in the server. Servers fully licensed with Enterprise Edition core licenses with software assurance (SA) allow for an unlimited deployment of virtual machines (VMs) running BizTalk on the server (or server farm). This is especially beneficial in heavily consolidated virtual environments.
  • As an alternative to licensing all the physical cores on a server, organizations are able to license individual VMs. To license a VM with core-based licenses, count the number of virtual cores allocated within the VM (minimum of four core licenses per VM). Each VM licensed w/SA can be moved frequently within your server farm.

What does this mean for you? Continue Reading…

SHI simplifies Microsoft True-up for Mid America Computer Corporation

Posted by at 12:08 PM

Properly licensing software in a virtual environment can be a challenge for many organizations, and I’ve heard the process described as everything from a “minefield” to “a ticking time bomb.”

However, an experienced IT Asset Management (ITAM) partner can help you navigate the virtual terrain. Take this customer case study, for example.

THE PROBLEM

Billing and software solutions provider Mid America Computer Corporation (MACC) was approaching its annual True-up reconciliation for its Microsoft software. To make sure the company’s license inventory was in compliance with its contract prior to renewal, MACC needed an accurate, comprehensive look at exactly what software was being used on what devices.

Kourt Jensen, Network Supervisor at MACC, faced three challenges:

  1. He didn’t have the time to collect a complete inventory himself.
  2. He lacked the confidence in the software inventory tools MACC had in place to provide up-to-date licensing information necessary for an accurate True-up.
  3. And he needed help understanding the licensing requirements for a virtual server environment. Continue Reading…

6 reasons why SHI should be your ITAM partner

Posted by at 1:34 PM

Although IT asset management (ITAM) gets VERY complicated VERY quickly, the key to selecting a partner can be boiled down to two simple questions: Who do you trust? Why do you trust them?

In a recent article, Paul Sheehan argues that companies that sell software licenses cannot function as independent and objective third-parties when it comes to helping clients manage those assets. The argument has merit. But, the author also clearly states that he works for a company that does not sell licenses, but does provide ITAM services.

I work for a company that does both, so it’s not surprising that I have a differing opinion. I believe that a world-class VAR with a world-class Software Asset Management (SAM) process is the best SAM partner a customer can have.

Here are the top six reasons why it’s not only possible – but likely – that the IT asset management solutions offered by a company like SHI are second-to-none.

  1. SHI is not your average VAR. Under the same private ownership since 1989, SHI has the advantage of answering to only one group of key stakeholders: our customers. With a 99 percent annual customer retention rate and clients who have been with us for 10, 15, and 20 years, SHI’s account teams are never put in a position to make decisions based on meeting quarterly Wall Street expectations. Our only interest is in the health of the long-term relationship we have with our clients. Continue Reading…

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