Resellers' view: the truth about Software Asset Management

NHS Connecting for Health has asked the resellers appointed to manage the distribution of licences under its latest Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft to conduct a piece of software asset management work.

Here, the three resellers explain why this is being done, how they are going about the task, and some of the further benefits of software asset management to NHS organisations.

Bytes Technology Group is a rapidly growing software and service provider. As the designated reseller for London, the South and the North West / West Midlands, it needs to find out what Microsoft software is in use across three regions. Chris Hibbert, NHS service delivery manager, explains:

Why is this piece of work being done? “NHS Connecting for Health (NHS CFH) is looking to understand what Microsoft software is being used in the NHS. They want to be able to go back to Microsoft in the future and say: need less of this, or we need more of that when they negotiate future agreements, so they can be sure they are spending money appropriately. "[customers] go to our website, enter their details, download the installation and roll it out via a deployment tool, if they have one, such as Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003..."

How is Bytes Technology going about the task? “There are various tools on the market that you can use for software asset management (SAM). Our first choice is Centennial, and we are offering that as a hosted solution or as something that trusts can manage themselves.

“The tool sits on the desktop and works out what is on it. Effectively, it says: this software is being used weekly or daily or whatever. However, it is important to stress that it does not say what the user is doing with it.

What do IT managers need to do? “To use Bytes Discovery [a customised version of the Centennial tool], IT managers need to contact me, or their account manager. We will give them a user name and password and also send them a Quick Start guide to get them going.

“Then, they go to our website, enter their details, download the installation and roll it out via a deployment tool, if they have one, such as Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003. Or we have a piece of technology to help them push it out. Or they can go and do it manually. It is a very simple process, but we have technical resource available to help.

What information is going to NHS CFH? “We report back to NHS CFH at an aggregate level. They just want to know how much of what software is out there and in use. We are not going to be saying this trust or that one is under-licensed or anything like that. " “And if they are planning an IT project, such as migration from Windows XP to Windows Vista, they can look ahead and see what hardware and software issues might come up."

And the whole process is confidential? “The tool sends information back to our servers. We know there is some concern among trusts about information being sent over the Internet [although the links are secure and the data encrypted]. We are looking to address that in two ways.

“The first is that we are working to become accredited to use the N3 network - but this will take some time. The second is that, under the auspices of the EA, trusts can get a copy of Centennial to run and manage themselves. If they do that, we will need to talk to them about getting aggregate data to feed back to NHS CFH.

Are there benefits for trusts in doing this? “The tool has definite benefits for trusts. Beyond knowing what is out there across their estate, they can drill down into a PC and see what software it is running. It also gives them an indication of how much disk space is in use and whether there is any illegal software or devices loaded.

“If there are support issues with a desktop, they should be in a better position to spot what is causing them. And if they are planning an IT project, such as migration from Windows XP to Windows Vista, they can look ahead and see what hardware and software issues might come up.

How long will this take? “We have approximately 400,000 desktops in use across our three regions. NHS CFH has given us a three to four year timescale; we are meant to deploy something like 20 per cent this year and 40 per cent next year and 80 per cent by 2009.

“But our corporate objective is to get this done to the level of 80 per cent in the next year and there is no reason why that should not happen. The tool is easy to deploy and to use. There are clear benefits for the NHS and for trusts in doing this, and we think those should be delivered as quickly as possible.”





Trustmarque Solutions are software licensing specialists and the designated reseller for the North East and the Department of Health. It is using SAMpartners, an independent, specialist consultancy, to find out what Microsoft software is in use in these areas. Tony Fisher from SAMpartners explains:

What have you been asked to do? “Trustmarque Solutions has been asked to audit about 20,000 desktops a year for the life of the EA [it is believed, although nobody knows for certain, that there are about 120,000 PCs in use in the NHS in the North East].

“Our service is to go along to each NHS organisation and deploy the Centennial discovery tool. We let it soak for up to 90 days, which give it an opportunity to capture data, and at the end of that period we provide an inventory for the NHS organisation concerned.

“We are also setting up a remote service. We wanted to visit organisations initially, and provide them with consultancy. But we have asked Centennial to host a service because we think that once people see the benefits of this exercise they are going to be interested in that.

What do IT managers need to do? “We had a launch event back in October, and we asked those organisations that felt there were ready to go ahead this year to let us know. Now, we are contacting them and booking them in. " “In fact, the really important thing to say about this exercise is that if people do it, they can go on and do other things...they can look at their SAM policies and processes and check they are following best practice."

What information is going to NHS CFH? “No information is going to NHS CFH that should worry organisations. NHS CFH just wants numbers. They do not want detail. They don’t want to know what is being done with software, or whether trusts are under-licensed or anything like that.

“That is for the organisations concerned to deal with - although it is worth saying that if the audit shows there is significant under-licensing across the health service, NHS CFH might decide to deal with it, which would be a benefit for trusts.

What other benefits are trusts going to see? “The inventory will give trusts a clear view of what they have got, often for the first time. They are going to get information for support services and technical refreshes.

“In fact, the really important thing to say about this exercise is that if people do it, they can go on and do other things. They can make sure they are compliant. They can look at their SAM policies and processes and check they are following best practice.

“They can look at some sort of managed service, so they can get more or less constant audit of their desktops. They could even go for the ISO standard [ISO 19770]. The audit is just a route to get information. The important thing is what organisations then go on and do with it.”

Computacenter advises on IT strategy and the deployment and effective management of technology. It is the designated reseller for the East of England / East Midlands and for all NHS arms length bodies (ALBs). Marketing manager Bobbie Ttooulis explains:

Why is this piece of work being done? “We need to get a number [for Microsoft applications] for NHS CFH, which wants the information so it can make informed decisions about what to buy for the health service in future negotiations.

"The first is to really try and get across the message that if trusts do not know what they have, then they cannot know what they need."
How is Computacenter going about the task? “We have approached this in two ways. The first is to really try and get across the message that if trusts do not know what they have, then they cannot know what they need.

“We have been holding workshops to which we have invited all the trusts in our areas - and the arms length bodies - to tell them about the EA, and why NHS CFH wants this done, and to get this message across to them.

“The second way is to present it as stage one of NIMM [NHS CFH’s national infrastructure maturity model]. We are saying that doing SAM will give trusts information to feed into that assessment. Step two is producing a NIMM roadmap.

How will the information be collected? “At a local level, organisations need a discovery tool in place and to be able to output an asset register.

“So, trusts may say they have a tool in place and it is working and that is great. Or they may have a tool that is not working, in which case we will help them fix it. Or they may not have a tool, in which case we will make them aware of their options.

"...we are finding that many people are under rather than over-licensed, because they have bought more licenses than they need to guard against the risk of non-compliance."

“Everybody who attends a workshop will get a follow up, to find out whether they have a tool and whether it is working and whether they can output a register. And we will get them to the point where they can do that.

“Then we will look at the results alongside any existing data that organisations have, and see how the two match up. Because the results that come from the tool will still be very basic; it may not capture every application, or there may be some duplication.

What information is going to NHS CFH? “Anything that is done between ourselves and our clients is confidential and we will not share detailed information with anyone. Anything we provide to NHS CFH will be at a rolled up level; they just want data about what is in use across our patch.

“If the exercise reveals issues [at particular trusts] we will work through them with those organisations. But we are finding that many people are under rather than over-licensed, because they have bought more licenses than they need to guard against the risk of non-compliance.

Are there other benefits for trusts in doing this? “The audit is just the first step. It gets everybody to a basic level. The next step is to say: now you have got a tool and it is working, move on to the next level and get it working better.

“We will be looking at providing further education about how to properly manage assets and about how doing that can help in three key areas: compliance, cost effectiveness and complexity [making assets easier to buy, deploy and manage].

How long will this take? “Within the next six months, we want every organisation in our patch to have created an asset register. We want to get everybody to first base by then.”

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