BigFix SAM Tool Lets Enterprises Track Software Use (
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BigFixs DSS software asset management product is a powerful way to let IT administrators manage the buying, deploying and license utilization of enterprise software, a crucial task in tight economic times. Theres a lot to like about BigFix DSS, once IT administrators get past the clunky installation process.How many different software packages, licenses, versions and
installation locations are there within your enterprise? If you can
even start to answer, then chances are you're ahead of the game.
Various studies have shown that companies spend roughly 40 percent
of their IT budgets on software, and about 30 percent of that is wasted
because of over-licensing, which translates to about 12 percent of
total IT budgets. Right now, it's probably pretty safe to say that if
you can save 12 percent of your total IT budget, you may save some jobs
and earn some accolades.
Software asset management, or SAM, while not exactly the sexiest IT
discipline, is drawing more attention these days, given that its the
intersection between budgeting, support and security. SAM's goal is to
manage and optimize purchase, deployment, maintenance and license
utilization of enterprise software. SAM tools can be used to enforce
compliance with security policy and reduce software licensing and
support costs by accurately measuring application utilization. SAM
tools typically involve a central management console and database,
coupled with a client agent that reports on software inventory.
BigFix DSS SAM is built on the
widely deployed BigFix Discovery 7 unified management platform. It is
essentially a series of new modules and reports for BigFix Enterprise
Server. The solution continuously tracks detailed information on all
system and application software installed on servers, desktops, laptops
and virtual machines. Powerful analytic tools track license
utilization, costs and compliance with licensing terms and
conditions.
Acknowledging that it would be difficult to build a test bed large
enough to get the full enterprise DSS SAM experience (think 10,000-plus
workstations), I built a small test bed consisting of two physical
Ubuntu 8.04 machines, each running five Windows XP Pro SP3s and one
Windows Server 2003 EE under VMware Workstation 6. This still allowed
me ample opportunity to experience the product's many strengths and
single weakness.
The single weakness is the installation process. As is fitting to a
product with "enterprise" in the name, the effort required to prepare
for, install and configure BES (BigFix Enterprise Suite) and DSS SAM is
considerable. If you already have BES installed, that gets you halfway
there, but for those shops not already running BES, the installation
was arduous enough to make me wonder if it's worth it.
Installation required me to actually read multiple sets of
instructions to obtain granular configuration steps and settings
(meaning "open this program, click this menu, click this tab, click
this link and enter this value," which I think is asking a bit much).
The bright note in the startup process was the DSS SAM User's Guide
QuickStart, which clearly and concisely listed 10 steps to familiarize
myself with the interface and let me start analyzing software
assets.
The installation woes quickly became a thing of the past once I
familiarized myself with BES Console and DSS SAM. Combined, they
provide essential information for patch management, application
monitoring (black and white list), troubleshooting and overall
inventory. The depth and breadth of information that DSS SAM puts at
your fingertips may itself become the most valuable asset within your
IT organization.
Enterprise Applications 
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