DRAFT ASSET VISION. The Definitive Guide. A Single Cloud Service to Manage Software, Mobile, and Endpoint Devices

Transcription

1 ASSET VISION The Definitive Guide A Single Cloud Service to Manage Software, Mobile, and Endpoint Devices

2 Contents Executive Summary 4 Improving Business Outcomes: Scalable Software s New Vision for IT Asset Management (ITAM) 6 What can Scalable s ITAM in the Cloud Asset Vision do for your organization? 6 A Complete Asset Tracking and Discovery Solution 7 Software Portfolio Optimization (SPO) 11 Endpoint Device Management (EDM) 14 The Consumerization of IT, or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) 15 Device Enrollment 15 Endpoint Device Management Features 16 Mobile Device Management (MDM) Features 17 Fixed Device Management (FDM) Features 18 With You Every Step of the Way 19 What Exactly is Asset Vision? 20 Service Architecture 20 Integrated Network Discovery and Software Inventory 21 Asset Vision API 21 The Philosophy Underlying Asset Vision 22 Agile Development 22 Integration with Customer IT Estate 24 Recognition, Normalization and Enrichment 25 Amazon Web Services (AWS) Scalable Software

3 How Does Asset Vision Differ from Other IT Asset Management Type Products? 26 Time to Value 26 Extensibility 26 Pace of Development 27 Cost 27 Enterprise-Class Characteristics 28 API 28 Scalability 28 Governance and Security Role Management 29 Diagnostics 29 Security 29 Recovery 29 Summary 30 About Scalable Software 31 Scalable Software 3

4 Executive Summary Organizations are struggling with a loss of efficiency and effectiveness caused by too many IT management tools from too many vendors, and the associated need to rely on those vendors to make the tools work together. 1 At the same time organizations are challenged by the consumerization of IT, also known as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Users now expect a business service response not delayed by the siloed nature of IT infrastructure, nor impacted by change control processes. What organizations need now is a reliable service purpose-built to meet these demands, with a predictable, valuable, and measurable outcome to better manage IT. This service must adapt to meet challenges that include: Rapid changes in delivery models for all manner of IT services, and uncertainty on how to best integrate existing investments An unprecedented increase in the number of mobile devices and other employee-owned computing endpoints 2 The increased complexity of licensing in a virtualized and cloud-based world A well-documented increase in the number of software vendor audits 3 The real time expectation of results and answers to complex business questions The constant pressure to eliminate wasteful expenditure within IT. 1 The Hackett Group, Reducing Complexity in the IT Portfolio, 2010, metrics/mmit0410.pdf 2 Ellis, Lisa, and Greg Gilbert, McKinsey & Company, The Mobile Disruption: The Next IT Enterprise Shake-Up, 3 Industry experts say Microsoft has been checking up on its customers software usage more vigorously than ever. Microsoft is not the only company vexing CIOs with its software licensing rules. Earlier this year, CIOs complained about what they perceived as exorbitant software maintenance fees from Oracle. Customers also said SAP was becoming more aggressive enforcing its software policies. Boulton, Clint. Microsoft Software Licensing, Audits Confound CIOs, Wall Street Journal Online, July microsoft-software-licensing-audits-confound-cios/ 4 Scalable Software

5 Further, the service must advance ITAM process and procedures, regardless of: The lack of true progress in ITAM process and procedures despite 20+ years of effort A continued disconnect between the effectiveness of Asset Tracking and Discovery based on traditional architectures. The Asset Vision suite of cloud-based ITAM technology has been designed from the outset to meet all these challenges without any of the inherent burdens of traditional ITAM tool implementations and maintenance. Asset Vision will grow with its customers: it has been developed using Agile approaches, and is backed by a world-class team that works with and supports our customers every step of their journey to simpler, more robust ITAM. Asset Vision ensures business results are delivered reliably, clearly, and understandably. Scalable Software 5

6 Improving Business Outcomes: Scalable Software s New Vision for IT Asset Management (ITAM) The traditional scope of ITAM Asset and Service Tracking and Discovery, Software Portfolio Optimization, and Endpoint Device Management has been stretched to the limit by the consumerization of IT and demand for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Given the additional pressure on all IT to align with business goals and improve business outcomes, ITAM can no longer afford to be business as usual. In this overview, you ll learn more about the impact of BYOD and the proliferation of IT management tools on ITAM, see how Asset Vision addresses those challenges, and understand the service architecture and specific features of Asset Vision. What can Scalable s ITAM in the Cloud Asset Vision do for your organization? Asset Tracking & Discovery (ATD) to Strengthen Negotiations and Purchasing Power. Asset Tracking and Discovery (ATD) is the basis of almost all IT Asset Management tasks. Simple in concept but difficult to achieve efficiently, ATD is too often pursued through multiple tools that add their own complexity to IT efforts. 4 Asset Vision, with its extensive customization facilities and built-in discovery and location mapping, enables devices to tracked from arrival to decommissioning. Asset Vision correlates discovered inventory, with allocation and location information, to keep your register of IT assets current in minutes, automatically. The heavily normalized system of representing data, captured by Asset Vision s discovery facilities, enables the kind of analysis that can dramatically strengthen purchasing power during upgrade cycles. Easily accessible information on the adoption history of manufacturer and model types, along with software deployment history, reveals patterns of behaviour that can inform future buying decisions. 4 [O]nly 28% use a single management tool to discover, track, secure and manage all the IT hardware and software assets in their organisation. Twentyman, Jessica, ComputerWeekly, feature/embarking-on-a-voyage-of-asset-discovery 6 Scalable Software

7 A Complete Asset Tracking and Discovery Solution Asset Vision takes an integrated approach to ATD, unlike many alternative offerings. The ATD capabilities provided as standard are: Device Discovery Service Discovery Device Tracking Discovery Reconciliation Vulnerability Assessment Warranty Management Business Intelligence for Asset Management and Usage Device Discovery. The network discovery and device inventory features of Asset Vision are comprehensive enough to warrant a separate, detailed drill-down and discussion. Briefly, in Asset Vision a range of device discovery methods are implemented (details can be found in the section What Exactly is Asset Vision ). These methods ensure comprehensive coverage of all supported device types and classes regardless of network topology or ownership. A full picture of hardware configuration is discovered for both physical and virtual assets. Fig. 1. Charting the characteristics and progress of discovery. Scalable Software 7

8 In Asset Vision, each class of discovered device has follow-on discovery designed to enumerate an accurate picture of the software configuration on each device. All discovered details are fed into the Asset Vision cloud-based, crowdsourced catalog to ensure normalization of names. In addition, information in the catalog is used to enrich the discovered assets with internet-sourced information, such as warranty status, patch vulnerability, location, and license metrics. Fig. 2. Certain classes of service discovered. Service Discovery. In addition to detection of the hardware and software characteristics of each discovered device, Asset Vision can detect the presence of common services 5 on a device-by-device basis: Oracle instances, Terminal Service Instances, and VMWare features are just some examples of the services that can be detected. Each service has a varying degree of additional data captured; this data is used to provide service-specific intelligence to support decision-making. For example, Terminal Services analysis will also yield the allocation of TS User Client Access Licenses (CALs). CALs are essential to any Software Asset Management program or audit. 5 The nature of the Asset Vision architecture is such that we can add support for new services rapidly; we have a robust service enumeration roll-out plan that begins the first part of 2013 and continues to enhance Asset Vision. 8 Scalable Software

9 Device Tracking. From the moment the shipping manifest or barcode dataset is produced, to the point at which the device is decommissioned, you can track device status and location with Asset Vision. By using the inherent Business Intelligence features of Asset Vision, reports can easily be assembled, distributed, and maintained. If there is a need to import RFID tag information, Asset Vision can accommodate that as well. Customizable statuses and notifications are combined in Asset Vision with an easy-to-configure location management system to ensure you always know where your assets are and to whom they are allocated. Discovery Reconcilication. A discovery layer integrated into Asset Vision s tracking features enables direct, automated reconciliation of discovered asset information with contractual and other manually maintained information. In addition Asset Vision can import discovery data from several well-known systems management tools such as Microsoft s SCCM. This import enables further reconciliation of device information. The net effect is a very high degree of confidence that reported IT asset status matches reality. No matter what the information source, Asset Vision can reconcile it, ensuring a 360 degree view of your asset portfolio. Fig. 3. Automated vulnerability analysis. Scalable Software 9

10 Vulnerability Assessment. Because Asset Vision is purpose-built to adapt to changing needs, its vulnerability assessments will evolve and iterate. These tests, ever increasing in number, can easily be applied to device endpoints. Warranty Management. Warranties are a valuable attribute of most IT assets, whether hardware or software. With Asset Vision you can get automated warranty status reports for most of your devices. No more entering Fig. 4. Automated warranty analysis. warranty information manually, risking errors and increasing the demand on your resources. Asset Vision automatically gathers hardware warranty data from manufacturer websites using serial numbers obtained during discovery. Software warranties are derived from imported license documents (see the section Software License Management ). The data is presented for viewing and analysis in easy to consume charts. Business Intelligence (BI). Asset Vision has an advanced yet easy-to-use business intelligence layer. There are no additional reporting tools to purchase, no custom report writers needed or the requirement to send data off to a BI function within the organization to provide actionable information. Great visualization combines with dynamic drill-down to make it easy to get from summary charts to detailed actionable intelligence. Executive dashboards, which can 10 Scalable Software

11 be subscribed to, mean important information about the status of you IT assets is always available to the people that care. Software Portfolio Optimization (SPO) Effective SPO delivers compelling tangible benefits to an organization. These benefits include: 1. Effortlessly maintaining compliance with license agreements 2. Being able to quickly produce audit-ready documentation in support of that compliance with one or two keystrokes when the auditors come knocking. 3. Ensuring the expense of application migration to new platforms is incurred only for those application packages genuinely required by the organization. 4. Dramatically reducing license, maintenance, and service fees associated with commerical off the shelf software,or turnkey systems. Software Inventory Processing. Asset Vision s accurate, thorough, and honest discovery mechanism relies on a continuously updated cloud-based catalog of over a million data points that are used for recognition. This basic inventory is processed using an advanced set of inventory rules that calculate the real metrics against which compliance is measured, metrics on items such as processors, cores, clusters, virtualization, CALs, and much more. Asset Vision s rules-based inventory processing powers its unique ability to deliver the desired business outcome. Without it, an organization must interpret many thousands of raw inventory data points against an ever-changing set of vendor licensing metrics and rules; this is where many solutions fail, and failure puts you and your organization at risk during compliance audits. Software License Management. Accurate inventory is only one part of the software compliance equation; your license entitlement must be known and defended. Asset Vision has powerful and flexible license management features that enable the consistent import of sources of license entitlement such as: Microsoft Licensing Statements (MLS) Adobe Licensing Statements (ALS) Large Account Reseller (LAR) purchasing history Internal Purchase Order and Invoice data Individual purchases where invoice data is not associated with a Purchase Order. Scalable Software 11

12 During import these individual license records are enriched, using the same catalog Asset Vision uses for inventory processing, with a consistent normalized name and a host of additional information such as license types, license metrics, MSRP information, and similar data. The purchase data can be de-duplicated easily, and processed using vendor licensing rules to provide a current effective license position with a few keystrokes. This license processing is another feature that separates Asset Vision from less robust Fig. 5. Compliance overview. solutions that claim to help with compliance. Asset Vision understands how each of the different vendor license types for example, Software Assurance, Renewal Plans, Upgrades, Step-Ups should be processed in order to accurately calculate an effective license position. The processing maintains a log of source entitlements with associated documentation that can be used to mount a vigorous defense of a license position against a vendor audit. An important by-product of Asset Vision s processing of highly granular purchasing data is another facet of asset BI: the ability to accurately forecast software assurance coverage requirements and evaluate purchase velocity on a product-by-product basis Scalable Software

13 Audit and Compliance Reporting. With an unrivalled repository of data for software inventory and license positions and a best-in-class ability to generate reports based on inventory rules, Asset Vision is ideally suited to the production of documentation required by vendor audits in a fraction of the time usually required. In case after case Asset Vision reduces the time and effort required by over 90%. 6 Asset Vision will produce, in its native format, a Microsoft Effective License Position document. Identify Software No Longer Needed. It s unlikely anyone would claim they have exactly the right size software licenses for the needs of the organization. Scalable s analysis 7 suggests that between 22% and 37% of all installed software has either been unused within the last 90 days, or is used in ways that would indicate an inappropriate package has been installed. Not only does inappropriate or dormant software represent a breathtakingly large waste of money (the installed software incurs on-going maintenance fees paid to vendors and internal support costs, and it misses being recycled for genuine users.) Unused but installed software is also a drag on migration to newer platforms. Any migration to a new platform will start with an analysis of compatibility with existing line of business applications. In one example, Michael Silver, a Gartner Group VP, estimated the cost of migrating applications to Windows 7 to be of the order of $550 per PC. 8 And this cost is directly related to the number of applications installed on the endpoint. Since many companies effectively skipped Vista, there has been no mass-migration event for over 10 years. HP 9 estimated this increased lifecycle for Windows XP to have doubled and in some cases trebled the number of packages typically installed on workstations. Asset Vision enables IT to manage complexity no matter who the hardware or software vendors are, controlling hidden costs for dormant or under-utilized software in heterogeneous environments. 6 Results from over 30 Software Asset Management engagements undertaken with Scalable s service provider partners, when compared to methods based on other inventory and license management mechanisms. 7 Anonymous data gathered from over 200 Software Portfolio Optimization engagements Software-Optimization-An-Opportunity-to-Optimize-and-Save/ba-p/78618 Scalable Software 13

14 Eliminating the build-up of software detritus is a core functional benefit of Asset Vision. Asset Vision has a lightweight micro-agent that monitors the extent and mode in which software or web applications, implemented at the device endpoint, are used. It can accurately identify which applications are no longer needed, or which applications could be replaced with a lower-cost, report-only or viewer solution. As Asset Vision enriches information on an organization s license position with pricing data from Scalable s cloud-based catalog, the real cash savings from effective Software Portfolio Optimization can be identified and easily reported on for management. Endpoint Device Management (EDM) EDM as a discipline has evolved in response to the explosion of endpoints and with the coming Internet of Things there is little end in sight to endpoint proliferation. 10 With names such as PC Lifecycle Management, Client Management, Electronic Software Distribution and most recently Mobile Device Management, many have become familiar with the challenges of managing device endpoints used interactively by the workforce. The impact of employee-owned mobile devices, ubiquitous broadband, and the adoption of sensing devices has created a disruptive force: IT can no longer rely upon the availability of admin credentials or of network provenance. Against this backdrop effective EDM can help a company: Ensure device tracking and asset management processes are not compromised by the dramatic upswing in employee mobility and the proliferation of the Internet of things. Maintain configuration control of endpoints, regardless of type and location. Ensure adherence to usage and security policies. Procure and provision software for deployment on endpoint devices. 10 In 2020, the number of smart devices connected to the internet is projected to exceed 50 billion. Infographic, The Internet of Things, Scalable Software

15 The Consumerization of IT, or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) As long as innovation gives rise to new must have personal technology, the BYOD phenomenon is unstoppable. In order to recruit and retain the best available knowledge workers, organizations are required to embrace an IT environment driven more by the device preferences of employees than by corporate edicts. This is a global phenomenon, and shows no signs of slowing. 11 This avalanche of devices has several unique attributes that require a completely new approach to asset management: IT will have no administrative privileges over the devices The devices are unlikely to have any representation with Active Directory The devices will operate for a material amount of time on networks whose provenance cannot be determined The devices will be configured with software and hardware settings that are off-limits to central IT. 12 Asset Vision supports this new paradigm for endpoint device management with a combination of device enrollment, policy-based configuration, and push notifications. Organizations can now be confident that whatever class of endpoint device they need to manage and configure, whoever owns the devices, and wherever and whenever the device is used, IT can support and secure the device. Device Enrollment Since devices in an era of increased mobility do not have the same reliable relationship with the organization, a new model is required to get the device under management. Traditional methods of device management have relied on two prerequisites: installing a management agent on the device, and obtaining administrative credentials to enable remote access. For the majority of BYOD scenarios and related devices coming under an IT organization s management responsibility, neither of these prerequisites can be assumed to be options [NOTE, these footnotes need to be formatted and have quotes pulled.] 12 Deloitte, Half of tablet owners are currently employing their device in the work place deloitte.com/assets/dcom-unitedstates/local%20assets/documents/us_tmt_executive_summary_devices_ Study_ pdf Scalable Software 15

16 Fortunately, a new mechanism called Enrollment has emerged. If implemented correctly, enrollment establishes a reliable, trustworthy and secure means by which central IT can exert management control over the device. Enrollment can do this without requiring administrative credentials to be supplied, even if the device is on a network of questionable security. To varying degrees depending on device type, enrollment which is initiated by the endpoint does the following: It exchanges device certificates to ensure secured communication It identifies, to the device, its management control point It identifies, to a push-notification service, which devices the management control point is authorized to communicate with. Asset Vision has fully implemented the device enrollment model as part of its Endpoint Device Management (EDM) functionality. It further addresses the issue of what Gartner refers to as untrusted devices. 13 Endpoint Device Management Features Asset Vision s fully integrated approach to endpoints enables many common functions across all device types; just like a familiar user interface, their commonality makes it easy for users to learn and apply these functions. This is very much the case with Endpoint Device Management. Regardless of endpoint device type, Asset Vision provides the following key features implemented in a consistent way: Device Discovery, Inventory and Rescanning. Once enrolled, all devices have their hardware and software fully inventoried. The data retrieved from the device is then normalized using the Asset Vision catalog to ensure all information is represented in a consistent fashion. Application Distribution. All supported devices 14 can have applications deployed to them. While the application types and packages will vary based on platform, the administration mechanisms are consistent. Application packages are identified to 13 In the era of mobility, [IT must manage] a much more complicated ecosystem with untrusted devices at the source of the enrollment request. mobile-device-certificate-enrollment-are-you-vulnerable/ 14 Scalable products currently support ios, Windows 7, 8, XP and OS X devices. In the near future support is being extended to included Android and Windows Phone 8. Window 7, 8 and XP support is implemented in Scalable s WinINSTALL product. This feature will be available in Asset Vision during summer Scalable Software

17 Asset Vision, and the administrator can deploy them in either an ad-hoc fashion or according to a policy definition. Policy Management. Policies establish configuration rules for endpoints. Asset Vision supports the creation of different sets of these rules for different groups of endpoints, with virtually unlimited scope to classify endpoints into different groups. A background process continuously validates the actual configuration state against policy. If an issue is uncovered, Asset Vision either alerts IT Administration, remediates the issue, or quarantines the non-compliant device. Mobile Device Management (MDM) Features Asset Vision has features that enable the management of mobile devices using the native capabilities of common mobile device types. By definition, mobile devices support end-user mobility. MDM most often applies to smartphones and tablets, but increasingly the definition includes laptops and the emerging range of tablet/laptop hybrids. Key MDM features include: Profile Management. The administrator can apply profiles covering a range of configuration options to devices. These configuration options cover security settings, content restrictions, backups, access to s, and other network services. Device Control. The administrator can be given direct control over devices that breach a policy, or are lost or stolen. These functions, which include the complete or selective wipe (required for employee-owned devices), give IT the management and governance controls needed to make internal services available to mobile devices, even as mobile devices move from network to network. Fig. 6. Installation of Asset Vision secure MDM profile. Scalable Software 17

18 Fixed Device Management (FDM) Features 15 Although traditional fixed devices such as workstations, desktops, and towers represent a shrinking percentage of the number of endpoints that must be managed, they are not going disappear anytime soon. 16 With additional capabilities aimed at the fixed, corporate owned estate, Asset Vision extends its previously discussed support for mobile devices. Key Fixed Device Management features include: OS Provisioning. Asset Vision, using capabilities derived from Scalable s widely adopted WinINSTALL technology, can remotely migrate corporate-owned Windows Fig. 7. Endpoint device management configuration and control. 15 Implemented currently with Scalable s WinINSTALL product. Will be available within the Asset Vision architecture by the summer of The worldwide PC market saw a slight increase in volume during the first quarter of 2012 (1Q12) compared to the same quarter in 2011, with shipments rising 2.3%, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. IDC, April 2012, PC Market Returns To Positive Growth, Though Gains Remain Small According to IDC, Scalable Software

19 machines to newer operating systems. In a single automated step that uses an advance Pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE), Asset Vision can quickly extract configuration and application settings, install a new operating system, and re-apply the settings. With You Every Step of the Way Item Class Computers Software Packages Software Programs Information Software Services Service type, service consumer, and service properties. CIOs and C-suite executives increasingly 2 demand accountability from IT line-ofbusiness management prior to allocating Make, model and manufacturer, IP routing information, Routers and location. resources for new tools and manhours. This Switches Make, model and manufacturer, and location. focus on accountability has been driven by Make, model and manufacturer, location, and print usage Printers and characteristics. the dismal failure rate for IT projects reported by numerous sources. 17 Since a significant contributing factor in IT failure is complexity, it s no surprise that IT asset management has also become too complex, and endpoints too diverse, for many time-constrained internal groups to handle in isolation. It is for this reason that Asset Vision is offered with a managed service provision as part of its subscription fee. You and your teams are accountable to C-level executives; with this managed service provision, Scalable and Asset Vision are accountable to you for measurable business outcomes. Since Scalable knows our software better than anyone, we know how to configure and implement it to deliver you the fastest return on investment. Our service enables you to receive real value from your software investment, reducing your risks and providing you support rarely seen in IT management. Physical and virtual mapping, hardware characteristics, identification, peripherals, network configuration, and location. Package names and identification, versions, publishers, installation dates, and sizes. Normalized names, publishers and versions, software identification tagging information, license metrics, product codes, and channels. Client Access License allocation. File names, sizes and the software packages to which they belong, and program utilization information. 1 Install location and utilization mode (local, network or virtual.) 1 Available when the micro-agent is installed on the workstation. 2 Scalable is regularly adding support for additional software services. Currently supported services include database, terminal service, and VM licensing. 17 Krigsman, Michael, CIO analysis: Why 37 percent of projects fail, CXO, March 2011, blog/projectfailures/cio-analysis-why-37-percent-of-projects-fail/12565 Bloch, Michael, Sven Blumberg, and Jürgen Laartz, Delivering large-scale IT projects on time, on budget, and on value. McKinsey Quarterly, October [W]orldwide, we are already losing over USD 500 billion per month on IT failure, and the problem is getting worse. Sessions, Roger, The IT Complexity Crisis: Danger and Opportunity, November com/whitepapers/itcomplexitywhitepaper.pdf Scalable Software 19

20 What Exactly is Asset Vision? Asset Vision is an extensive IT asset management system implemented entirely within Amazon s Web Services cloud environment. Asset Vision exploits many of the latest technical innovations to provide a cost-effective, customizable, yet enterprise-grade service to manage all your software and hardware assets. This section covers some of the technical implementation details. Fig. 8. Asset Vision technical architecture. Service Architecture Asset Vision is a multi-tenant, Software as a Service (SaaS) system. Multi-tenant systems represent the most cost-effective way to implement SaaS tooling as they enable maximum resource sharing. The User Interface (UI) for Asset Vision is built 20 Scalable Software