By Emily Allender / 31 May 2019 / Topics: Software
Facts at a glance
Client industry:
Online retail
Challenge:
The client needed a partner with Microsoft licensing expertise to help it take control of its software environment on a global scale.
Solution:
- License reconciliation
- Microsoft Enterprise Agreement
- Software asset management services
Results:
- Millions of dollars saved
- A unified software environment
- Less risk of publisher audits
- Smarter Microsoft license management
Solution area:
Insight’s Supply Chain Optimization solutions simplify the process of procuring, maintaining and replacing the technology clients invest in to run their business.
A global online retailer specializing in consumer-created marketing materials needed a better way to manage its software environment. The company had adopted a decentralized model with a series of autonomous business units supported by a corporate team.
Although this unique business structure fostered innovation, it created a big challenge in managing companywide software assets. No single person or team had responsibility for the software environment. As a result, licenses were being over- and underused, especially when it came to the organization’s Microsoft assets — and Microsoft noticed.
The company had been given 30 days to become compliant or risk being officially audited by Microsoft, a process that would cost thousands, if not millions, of dollars.
The retailer quickly realized this process would be too heavy of a lift for its existing internal workers. The company needed a team of Microsoft licensing specialists who could guide employees through the audit process and help them better manage the Microsoft environment as a whole.
Knowing Insight is a leading Microsoft global licensing reseller with 13 Gold competencies and more than 500 certifications, the company chose us. Our knowledge of the Microsoft environment and our global resources also played a part in the decision.
Our dedicated Supply Chain Optimization team started by taking a holistic look at the client’s entire software situation. We worked for several months to understand what the client was entitled to, its existing situation and how to close the resulting gap.
The client’s official Microsoft License Statement (MLS) showed the volume licenses for the entire company. However, because of the company’s decentralized model, our team needed to collaborate with the client to determine which purchases belonged to each business unit.
We also needed to identify which entities were no long applicable because they had been sold or dissolved. In addition, some business units had been buying licenses separately, so our team had to investigate and understand what those units had bought.
At the end of this process, we provided the client with a solid understanding of its licensing entitlements broken out by normalized name, version and quantity.
For the second step, our team set up a deployment call for each business location to install the Movere tool from Microsoft, which is used to capture necessary licensing data. We used the tool to pull reports specific to each business unit so we could begin the reconciliation process.
The time-intensive activity included clarifying installation and licensing data with the client. Once the data had been validated, we worked with the client to determine exactly what each business unit had installed.
After comparing that data to the entitlement information, we ran a gap analysis for each individual business unit first. Then, we rolled that up to the corporate level so the client could see its entire licensing position.
During the audit process, we functioned as a true advocate for the client, working directly with Microsoft to get every individual business unit into compliance. In the end, we successfully reconciled the client’s licenses and helped the company avoid an official audit from Microsoft — and save millions of dollars.
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