Dell Software Helps Customers Reduce Software License Compliance Risk with the Dell KACE K1000 Management Appliance

Dell Software today announced the latest version of the Dell KACE K1000 Management Appliance, which now includes integrated software asset management to boost software license compliance, while helping lower IT costs. A flagship product in Dell Software’s endpoint systems management portfolio, the K1000 adds automated software asset identification, tracking and optimization to its comprehensive list of capabilities for managing the deployment, operation and retirement of an organization’s critical software assets.

The rapid adoption of virtualization, cloud computing and BYOD further complicates software licensing structures, which can increase a company’s risk of non-compliance. BSA | The Software Alliance, a global advocate for the software industry, has settled unlicensed software cases with 12 different companies from January 2012 to May 2013. These settlements, valued at an estimated $3.3 million, reveal the costly consequences of non-compliance while reinforcing the critical need for highly reliable, accurate reporting of all software licenses.

With this latest release, the K1000 simplifies the increasingly arduous task of responding to software audits by tracking, assessing and ensuring software license compliance across multiple versions, as well as inconsistent package and component names. Additionally, the K1000 eases the burden of determining software usage, which is exceedingly difficult due to complex software licensing structures. As a result, Dell Software can empower organizations of all sizes to identify software licenses with great accuracy while making it easy to reclaim and reallocate underutilized software.

“Constant market changes such as mergers, acquisitions and product End-of-Life (EOL) announcements often increase an organization’s risk of exposure to non-compliance fines or software overspending,” said David Kloba, general manager of Endpoint Systems Management for Dell Software. “By extending the K1000’s capabilities with automated and integrated software asset management, Dell is making major strides in helping our customers improve software compliance, reduce unnecessary license costs and accelerate software migrations.”

Unlike legacy systems management solutions, which often encompass separate point solutions, the K1000 integrates all its systems management functionality in an easy-to-deploy physical or virtual appliance. The new software asset management features include:

·         Software titling engine that automates detailed software audit and compliance reporting to avoid license violations and associated fines. According to a software asset management survey by Ernst & Young[i], up to 60 percent of customers polled do not monitor software usage and usage patterns, although the software infringement liability can equal up to three times the retail value of each unlicensed software installation.

·         Integration with the Dell Application Catalog (DAC), which provides access to approximately 110 million unique executable files. A web-based offering that is fully integrated with the Dell KACE K1000, the Dell Application Catalog has the advantage of daily updates and the addition of approximately 4,000 new applications annually. DAC offers deep cataloging capabilities with the ability to map minor software versions to the parent package for more accurate license tracking and usage across major versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple applications. Additionally, software suite recognition easily discerns whether an application has been installed in standalone mode or as part of a broader software suite.

·         Automated metering that enables administrators to view usage information based on when an application is actually run, for accurate compliance reporting and fast identification of underutilized software.

In addition to its software asset management enhancements, the new release of the K1000 enables IT administrators to capture and report new hardware characteristics to better gauge organizational readiness for OS and application migrations and upgrades. For any company planning an imminent move to Windows 7 or Windows 8, the ability to produce an accurate inventory of hardware and software assets is an essential first step in the migration process.

Additional Quote:

·         Dennis Drogseth, vice president, Enterprise Management Associates:

“According to our research, effective Software Asset Management consistently ranks as one of the top three priorities for service-aware asset management. Too often, however, this data is fragmented, inconsistent and contains gaps that easily can exceed as much as 30 percent, which can cost millions in failed audits, penalties and high-priced consulting fees. Dell KACE K1000 brings a unique combination of knowledgebase, inventory, usage analysis, and full lifecycle management to help ensure that license management is both effective and can provide improved integration into broader asset and service management concerns. “

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Delivering Complete and Connected Software Solutions

Dell Software empowers companies of all sizes to experience Dell’s “Power to Do More” by delivering scalable yet simple-to-use solutions that can increase productivity, responsiveness and efficiency. Dell Software is uniquely positioned to address today’s most pressing business and IT challenges with holistic, connected software offerings across five core solution areas, encompassing data center and cloud management, information management, mobile workforce management, security and data protection. This software, when combined with Dell hardware and services, helps customers simplify IT, mitigate risk and accelerate business results.

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[i] Ernst & Young LLP, Software Compliance without Tears, monitoring customers’ software usage in a complex world, 2011.