Software Asset Management (SAM)

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

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

3. Agenda • The PolyU SAM Solution • Demonstration

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

5. Deployment of SAM Tool • No need to install client agent on user’s PC • Invoke SAM tool by clicking an URL or attachment of e-mail

6. Prompt for User Information • Identify user name • PolyU e-mail address • Department • Office location

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

8. 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

9. Organize Software List • Prepare preliminary software list • Classify software

10. Classification of Software • Campus license • Departmental license • Shareware • Freeware • Personal software

11. Campus License • Software site license arranged by ITS • ITS maintains the software list for SAM • Details available from the ITS homepage at URL: http://www.polyu.edu.hk/its/services_facilities/ r_other_01.html

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

13. 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.

14. 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.

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. Demonstration of The SAM Tool