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Viewing software usage details

Viewing software usage helps you identify whether software is either over- or under-utilized in your organization. This identification enables you to take harvesting action based on the information that you see. Viewing software usage also helps you plan future purchases and discontinue unneeded licenses. This information enables companies to be audit compliant and optimize IT expenses. You can view this information from the Software Asset Management (SAM) Console and from the navigation pane.

Note

For software usage to be enabled with BMC Asset Management you must configure your software usage provider in the AST:ConfigUsageProvider form.

For example, if you are using BMC BladeLogic Client Automation (BBCA) as your desktop discovery, you can set up the AST:ConfigUsageProvider form with the BBCA software usage federated class BCAC_SoftwareUsage.

To view software usage from the SAM Console

  1. Open the SAM Console.
  2. Select one or more certificates, and click View Usage.
     The Software Usage by Certificate screen is displayed.
  3. In the navigation pane under Defined Searches, define your search criteria for certificates:
    • By Computer — You can view certificates by All or Non Deployed Computer.
    • By Status — You can view certificates by All, Expired, In Compliance, Out of Compliance, or Unknown.
    • By Usage – You can view certificates by All, Not used in the past 180 days, Not used in the past 30 days, or Not used in the past 90 days.
       In the table, you can view detailed information about software usage of the certificate currently selected by clicking the following options. In the lower part of the screen, you can view related users to the computer system where the software product has been installed.
    • View Certificate — Displays the License Certificate Information screen. You can view and modify the information.
    • View Product — Displays the CI Information screen pertaining to the related software product. You can view and modify the information.
    • View Computer System — Displays the CI Information screen pertaining to the Computer System. You can view and modify the information.
    • Usage Report — Generates a software usage report for the certificates currently displayed in the usage table. The report displays the following information about the certificate: the Software Product, Computer System, Certificate, Install Date, Last Used, Times used in 30 days, Times used in 90 days, and Times used in 180 days. You can export or print the report.
  4. To exit, click Close.

To view software usage from the navigation bar

  1. On the SAM Console, under Functions select Software Usage.
  2. Select the Company.
  3. Select a Manufacturer.
  4. Select a Product Name.
  5. In the navigation pane under Defined Searches, you can define your search criteria for software products by the following options:
    • By Computer — You can view certificates by All or Non Deployed Computer.
    • By Status — You can view certificates by All, Expired, In Compliance, Out of Compliance, or Unknown.
    • By Usage — You can view certificates by All, Not used in the past 180 days, Not used in the past 30 days, or Not used in the past 90 days.
       In the table you can view detailed information about software usage of the certificate currently selected by clicking the options. In the lower part of the screen you can view related users to the computer system where the software product has been installed.
    • View Certificate — Displays the License Certificate Information screen. You can view and modify the information.
    • View Product — Displays the CI Information screen pertaining to the related software product. You can view and modify the information.
    • View Computer System — Displays the CI Information screen pertaining to the Computer System. You can view and modify the information.
    • Usage Report — Generates a software usage report for the software relevant to the selected company and manufacturer, grouped by software name (multiple rows can have the same software name due to multiple computer systems). The report displays the following information: Software Product, Computer System, Certificate, Install Date, Last Used, Times used in 30 days, Times used in 90 days, and Times used in 180 days. You can export or print the report.
  6. To exit, click Close.

 

Tip: For faster searching, add an asterisk to the end of your partial query. Example: cert*