Measuring how users interact with applications is important for IT leaders and application portfolio managers to be able to optimize license costs and software spend. But as we discussed in our previous blog, current usage metering approaches just don’t give IT teams the depth needed to fully understand high value application usage. Plus, these tools are blindsided to bad practices, such as ‘license camping’ and leaving applications open overnight.
But what does this inability to understand real-world usage patterns actually mean for your business’s bottom line? Here, we unpack three consequences from not taking an intelligent approach to usage metering.
1. False conclusions leading to unnecessary expenses
Without a tool that can pull complete and detailed usage data from across the entire IT estate, it’s likely that application portfolio managers and IT leaders are reaching false conclusions about usage requirements. This leads to the over purchasing on the number of users or tokens. At a time when economic headwinds are uncertain and budgets might shrink, it’s crucial that organizations act now to curb any wasted expense. Intelligent metering can help optimize license purchasing decisions by distilling data from across the entire IT estate – delivering forensic level detail on usage to reveal true licensing requirements and eliminate guess work.
2. Unable to accurately right-size vendor contacts for Enterprise License Agreement renewals
Without granular detail on the active usage of applications, IT leaders are unable to right-size Enterprise License Agreements with vendors, potentially leading to significant overspend in the long run. This is particularly pertinent when it comes to high-value technical applications, where license agreements are often complex and expensive. For example, certain modules may be separately chargeable. Intelligent usage metering helps unravel license complexity by going beyond the limitations of simple ‘open/close’ metrics and providing detailed and accurate data on exactly which applications are being actively used, how often and by whom. IT leaders can then compare this data with current contracts and identify inconsistencies to right-size effectively when it comes to renewals.
3. Disrupting users’ workflows if they can’t access an application when needed
Setting up license agreements based on inaccurate usage requirements can lead to applications not being available when users need them, which seriously hinders productivity. IT leaders need to be able to understand peak demand patterns, as well as spot bad practices such as ‘license camping’ (check out our previous blog to learn more about this). With this data, they can ensure availability at optimal cost, without inhibiting employee’s workflows.
Take the intelligent approach
Scalable’s intelligent usage metering platform, Asset Vision, enables application portfolio managers and IT leaders to quickly survey the entire IT estate, capture data on active usage, and discover how to make smart decisions about rationalizing software assets and delivering software savings. It pinpoints unused, and underutilized applications, as well as revealing true usage patterns, so organizations can determine accurate requirements helping combat the issues above, minimize overspend and renegotiate contracts, without impacting users.
Visit our blog soon for part four of this series, where we will look at best practices for optimizing high-value application license costs, taking the example of engineering.
