Software Asset Management (SAM) ITS Offsite Workshop 2002 November 8, 2002

Software Asset Management Implementation of SAM at PolyU by Fleming Woo Chief Computing Officer And Demonstration by Ernest Yu Analyst Programmer

Agenda The PolyU SAM Solution Demonstration

Start Scanning Extract and Reorganize Useful Data Preliminary Installed Software List Central SAM Database Server PolyU Individual User PolyU SAM System (Client Side) Start Finalized Installed Software List (Categorized By License Type) End Enter Basic Info: User Name, , Machine Location & Dept. Identify and Re-Classify Scanned SW License Gathered System Info. Export a Local copy for future reference Individual Machine’s Installed Software Information Upload Scanned Results Scanning Engine Configuration definition PolYU Site License List Freeware List Dept. License List Shareware List ITS SAM Support Team Update and Maintenance of PolyU Site License List Try our best to Update Common Freeware and Shareware List Upgrade, Enhancement And Maintenance of PolyU SAM System Departmental CLO Update and Maintenance of Dept’s License List Review Dept’s Installed Software Information Maintenance Of Dept’s Machines List Re-Scan the system

Deployment of SAM Tool No need to install client agent on user’s PC Invoke SAM tool by clicking an URL or attachment of

Prompt for User Information Identify user name PolyU address Department Office location

Scan Hardware Time stamp data OS Version Collect hardware configuration data Computer name Processor Type Processor Speed Memory Size IP Address Mac Address

Scan Installed Software Scan Windows Registry for installed software in user’s PC Name Version Vendor Product ID Product Key Installation Date Registered Organization Registered Owner

Organize Software List Prepare preliminary software list Classify software

Classification of Software Campus license Departmental license Shareware Freeware Personal software

Campus License Software site license arranged by ITS ITS maintains the software list for SAM Details available from the ITS homepage at URL: r_other_01.html

Departmental License Software purchased by Department Include software purchased by a research grant CLO provides the list for SAM

Shareware ITS monitors the Shareware list on a best- effort basis Cautions: – Software for free use under certain conditions – License free only for a limited period – Most shareware are workable after the expiration of an evaluation period Example: ICQ Lite, WinZip, Acdsee32, etc.

Freeware ITS monitors the Freeware list on a best- effort basis Cautions: – Free for personal use may not be free for organizations – Free for educational use may not be free for personal use – Certain free version do not imply free higher versions Example: Microsoft HKSCS, Acrobat Reader, Eudora Internet Suite, Netscape Communicator, etc.

Personal Software Gift to user by authorized persons Open source software Software developed by user

Installed Software List Generate a local copy on user’s hard disk for future reference Display software installed on user’s PC Allow users to amend category and put remark against each piece of software, if applicable Allow users to save a softcopy in Word or HTML format

Submit SAM Data to Server User can choose to uninstall some unwanted software on his/her PC Re-scan the PC for fresh SAM data Submit the SAM data to the central SAM server

Summary of User Procedures Users conduct periodic software scan to ensure only licensed software are installed in their PCs: – Invoke the SAM tool – Scan PC for installed software – Examine and classify any unknown software – Put remarks to indicate any software that should be classified as departmental, shareware or freeware – Re-scan the PC if necessary – Submit the SAM scan result to the server

Summary of CLO Procedures Prepare the departmental software list for the SAM tool Ensure colleagues in the department perform the SAM scan exercise at a prescribed intervals Examine and work with ITS to deal with remarks posted by users on the SAM data Review the list of software installed in department from reports generated by the SAM tool

Summary of CLO Procedures (cont.) Prevent overuse of departmental software licenses Acquire additional number of licenses If necessary Advise users to uninstall software when appropriate Should maintain a departmental software list, including those on servers and non- Windows platforms

Summary of ITS Procedures Maintain the campus licensed software list for the SAM tool Monitor the shareware software list Monitor the freeware software list Monitor consolidated PolyU-wide software list

Summary of ITS Procedures (cont.) Monitor overuse of software site licenses at PolyU Advise users to uninstall software where appropriate Examine and act on remarks posted by users on the SAM data Update users on software licensing issues

Decentralized Approach A decentralized approach is adopted to cope with the diversified number of software installed in the multi- disciplinary PolyU Departments SAM is an ongoing process and is everyone’s responsibility ITS provides a tool to implement SAM by individual users

Limitations of the SAM Tool Serve as a tool to assist users Base on the Windows XP platform Scan Windows registry only, does not scan all kinds of software

Limitations of the SAM Tool (cont.) Run on Office Access Scan staff PCs only, not servers and PCs in computer labs Tentative implementation schedule: Semester 2 of 2002/03 when all PCs are upgraded to Windows XP

Demonstration of The SAM Tool