Workflow solution tightly integrates with FlexNet Manager Platform to ensure maximum ROI from software license management investment

Maidenhead, UK – July 11, 2011 - Flexera Software, the leading provider of strategic Application Usage Management solutions for application producers and their customers, today announced the launch of Workflow Manager for Enterprise License Optimization. As part of the FlexNet Manager Suite for Enterprises, Workflow Manager helps IT management automate and enforce best practice business processes around software license management.
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“Organizations that apply Software Asset Management principles and disciplines can achieve significant savings in comparison to unmanaged environments or those that are counting software assets in a spreadsheet,” said Patricia Adams, Research Director at Gartner. "Processes, especially those that are best practices, are essential to the success of a software license management program. Integrative workflows can automate those processes, thereby yielding rapid savings and efficiencies."

While there are many benefits arising from an optimized software asset management program, some organizations struggle with the business processes necessary for a successful technology implementation. Successful programs require business process integration and automation that workflow systems provide. “This is where Workflow Manager can be of tremendous assistance,” said Alan Swahn, vice president of product management at Flexera Software. “It provides the tools organizations need not only to implement the business processes essential for a mature software license optimization program, but also to help them adhere to those processes.”

Workflow management tools contribute to process improvement, increased performance, control and accountability to ensure software license compliance and enhanced end user satisfaction. The Web-based Workflow Manager centralizes and automates processes and standardizes procedures tied to the asset, service, and contract lifecycles, including:

    Out-of-the-Box & Customizable Workflow Templates: Workflow Manager offers customizable, pre-packaged workflow templates.  Example templates include an asset requisition request that delivers to users a software requisition and then automatically forwards it to the approver, checks for availability and provides accept/reject functionality and notifications; A software removing and reharvesting template that allows the software asset manager to send notifications to end users requesting approval to have an unused software asset removed or reharvested, and then performs the necessary back-office actions such as notification and removal by the configuration manager and reallocation of the license to the available license pool.  These templates can easily be tailored to fit internal processes, allowing organizations to continually update and enforce software license management best practices.

    Issues Management & Escalation: Issues can be labeled as critical, immediately placing the workflow into a “lock-down,” read-only mode until the issue has been resolved.  All comments associated with an issue are grouped together in a hierarchy, ensuring that the order of responses is clear.

    Dynamic Email Notifications: Workflow Manager can send dynamic emails to stakeholders notifying them of work being performed on their requests, increasing workflow efficiency while also keeping stakeholders apprised of status.

    Security: Supporting full integration with a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) database, permissions can be assigned to users based on roles, as defined in the database, to ensure they only see data they are authorized to access.

    Integration with FlexNet Manager Platform: Workflow Manager is a fully integrated component of the FlexNet Manager Suite for Enterprises, allowing dynamic data exchange and real-time updates to the asset and license management repository, lowering the overall time and cost of implementation.

    Management Dashboard and Reports: Workflow Manager offers a homepage dashboard for summary information about relevant work assignments, with alerts and reports delivered uniquely to each user based on permissions. Custom reports can also be designed, stored and rerun using the Report Wizard, helping IT Management monitor workflow processes and ensure business continuity.

Workflow Manager is a new product in the FlexNet Manager Suite for Enterprises, a comprehensive and proven solution enabling organizations to reduce the time and effort spent managing software licenses and compliance, slash on-going license and maintenance costs, minimize the risk and cost of non-compliance, minimize the downtime and delays due to denials of service, and enable more accurate planning and budgeting for future needs.

Resources:

    Workflow Manager tightly integrates with the FlexNet Manager Platform, part of the FlexNet Manager Suite for Enterprises, which includes:
    FlexNet Manager for IBM

    FlexNet Manager for Microsoft

    FlexNet Manager for Adobe

    FlexNet Manager for Symantec

    FlexNet Manager for SAP Business Suite

    FlexNet Manager for Engineering Application

    Read our Blog on Enterprise License Optimization

    Related Flexera Software Webinars

    Enterprise License Optimization White Papers