We have just published to CodePlex the Cireson Software Asset Management Enumerators (SAME), which is a community solution developed by the Cireson Partner and Community Enablement (PACE) team to lessen the effort associated with implementing a software asset management strategy with System Center and Cireson.
Below, please find the solution description and the download link for the Cireson Software Asset Management Enumerator!
The Challenge with Software Asset Management
Software asset management can be a lot of work. Configuration Manager software configuration items (CI) that are imported into the Service Manager database, their titles are not normalized. So the 18 variations of Adobe Acrobat Reader 11 that appear in the catalog all appear as distinct titles.
The software asset management feature of Cireson Asset Management solution delivers the capability to configure software asset matching rules (both Software Pattern and Version Pattern) to automatically roll up these myriad software titles into a normalized software catalog.
However, there is still the matter of creating these software assets and configuring matching rules for normalization, which takes time and effort on the part of the asset manager. Many times I’ve had a customer or a partner ask “Can you provide a preconfigured list of software titles that I can simply import into my Service Manager + Cireson deployment?”
The Solution
SAME is a simple yet powerful community solution is designed to lesson the effort associated with configuring the software asset management feature of the Cireson Asset Management solution, by providing a ready-made catalog of software asset titles with pre-configured matching rules.
Figure 1. Software Asset with pattern matching rules
How it Works
SAME consists of a pre-configured list of software assets that can be imported into Serivce Manager using the Cireson Asset Import Connector. In fact, as part of the SAME download, we have included a connector definition file you can import as well, making configuration of the connector to import the SAME data a quick and simple process.
The SAME catalog currently provides titles for the following software manufacturers, though we will continue to add new titles periodically and make them available for download.
- Adobe
- Avira
- ESET
- Idera
- Kaspersky
- Mathworks
- Microsoft
- TechSmith
- Wolfram
The SAME catalog currently includes a little over 500 software assets which should normalize a few thousand of the many software CIs collected through Configuration Manager inventory.
Implementing SAME
Implementing SAME is a 3-step process:
- Step 1: Download the zip file containing the solution files.
- Step 2: Copy the csv file containing the software assets and Asset Import Connector definition file (xml).
- Step 3: In Service Manager, configure the Asset Import Connector and import software assets.
You can import SAME Asset Management Import Connector definition file in the Service Manager Console using the menu shown below:
Figure 2. Import wizard to import a connector definition file
The resulting set of software assets (with matching rules configured) are ready for you to configure the licensing model that suits your need.
Figure 3. Software assets imported with the SAME solution
What else do I need to configure?
After importing software assets with SAME, you will still need to input your license data and associate them to the appropriate software assets. You can speed the import of license data by using the Cireson Asset Import Connector.
Updates
I expect we will update the solution periodically throughout the year, expanding the software manufacturers in the catalog. Have a list of manufacturers you would like to see us focus on first? Drop us a line at pace@cireson.com.
Downloads
You can download this solution accelerator with documentation here:
https://ciresondevops.codeplex.com/releases/view/616719
Please be advised:
THE “SOFTWARE” (CODE, CODE SNIP-ITS, SCRIPTS, RUNBOOKS, INTEGRATIONS OR OTHER DERIVED DEVELOPMENT PRODUCT) IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OR SUPPORT OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL CIRESON BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
