How to Manage Cloud Licensing?!

How to manage Cloud, Webapps, SaaS?!

Cloud is driving digitalization, COVID has forced us up into the Cloud in a faster phase than expected. Cloud is now one of the biggest challenges right now.

Similarities and differences between Onprem and BOX licensing??????

All Software Asset Management needs discovery. There are several ways to discover web apps (SaaS), URLs, API, SSO, connectors to portals, and Billing history. They have different values and shortcomings. For all SAM optimization you need 4 things:

1. Discovery -normalization of the application, where is it installed or used? Is it requiring a license?
2. License - Purchase information, are we paying for this software? How much? Are we compliant?
3. Usage - Is this application being used? How much? By whom and when?
4. Cost - How much does this cost? Is the cost equal to the consumption of the application?

·????????URL – With URL discovery you will get very accurate discovery and also usage, great for discovering shadow it. Shortcoming is that for some applications you can’t see the difference between the free version and the license-required web app.

·????????API – Decent but not as good discovery as URL, will still have a value to detect shadow it. Shortcomings no active usage, can’t determine free from license required web apps.

·????????SSO – Very accurate discovery of all centralized web apps. Shortcomings no discovery of Shadow IT, No usage = No optimization.

·????????Connectors – Connectors to SaaS portals will give license information and some usage sometimes. Shortcomings no discovery of Shadow IT, limited usage information sometimes no usage.

·????????Billing History – Good source for the inventory of Cloud spend and potential Shadow it. Unable to optimize since no usage, also how will you optimize license suits with just a bill?

Shadow IT

Shadow IT is everything acquired/used without IT’s involvement. Earlier this was also a problem when people could purchase box licenses. That moved away when everything become an internet transaction. Now we got Shadow IT instead when employees are using company credit cards or using the travel bill and using web apps/SaaS applications. Shadow IT needs Discovery same way as

Active usage is the way to cost savings

With on-prem applications, you can easily remove all installed apps never been used. But with SaaS applications there is nothing installed, so active usage becomes much more important. The most common scenario for SaaS applications is a subscription and named user license metric. This means you need real usage data to do optimizations and cost savings. With Active Usage you can see how much each user has used the application, per minute, per month. And then optimize the license based on real usage data.

How to reduce spending?

• ?Remove inactive/terminated users
• ?Downgrade from enterprise to standard or free
• ?Buy a single app instead of suite based on real usage
• ?Consolidate, single licenses into one agreement
• ?Negotiate enterprise agreement and discounts
• ?The same functions spread over multiple solutions/licenses

Recommendation – Stay away from commitment before you know you really need the service. More supervision and quicker/more changes. You don’t wait a year or 3 years to change the license or remove licenses. You need to do this on a monthly basis.

The transition from Client to User

With web apps/SaaS we are moving away from installation and on-prem license metrics to follow the users. Named user is the most common way SaaS applications are licensed so this means we need to follow the user more closely. This means also shorter cycles and quicker decisions. The agreement commitment usually is shorter and you have the possibility to change, downgrade, upgrade, and remove users on a monthly basis.

License Suits

This is a trend we are seeing right now, more and more vendors bundle their offerings into License Suits. This is a way for the vendor to get a lock-in effect and increase the price. Some vendors offer both SaaS applications and on-prem in the same Suits (Microsoft 365 and Adobe for Ex). This becomes complex for the SAM tools first to just do discovery but then also recognize them as a suit instead of a standalone application. The third and last step now is to assign a license and cover multiple applications under one license. The most common scenario is that doesn’t get done at all or you have to split up the license suit into standalone single licenses and allocate them manually. The problem is that you get incorrect compliance numbers. Take 365 for example, you license all applications by themselves, you don’t have the same amount of users or installations of excel, word, PowerPoint, and so on. Some will be over licensed and some might be incompliant. Also, have to take into consideration that with named user licenses you are allowed to have multiple installations.?

SUMMARY - COMPLETE THE PUZZLE

To manage the Cloud you need all pieces:

1. Discovery
2. License
3. Usage
4. Cost

With SaaS applications you need to make more decisions more often, you don't have the same risk of audits but you are overspending from day one. Create a monthly policy for reviewing your SaaS applications, usage, users, joiners and leavers, and active usage. Where can we downgrade or move to freemium?

If you have any questions regarding #SaaSmanagement #SAM #Softwareassetmanagement leave me DM.