4 Ways SIM, Powered by Lansweeper and Licenseware, Helps You Understand Your Software Environment

Written by Lansweeper 🦔 original article

Managing software assets is a challenging task for any business. With the growing complexity of IT environments, the need for clarity around licensing, cost management, and software optimization is more critical than ever. 

According to TechRepublic, companies in the US and UK waste approximately $44 billion annually on unused software licenses. Comprehensive software asset management (SAM) is absolutely essential for avoiding such unnecessary expenses, optimizing software usage, and maintaining compliance.

Lansweeper, Licenseware and the Licenseware Software Inventory Manager (SIM) app form a powerful trio that offers businesses the tools needed to gain complete visibility and control over their software environment. Using this integration, they can standardize installations and understand the cost and licensing implications of every installed product. 

In this post, we’ll dive into the key benefits and features of this integration and how it helps businesses optimize their software assets.

The Importance of Understanding Your Software Environment

Understanding your software environment goes beyond simply tracking installations. You must also know which products you’re using, whether you’re compliant with licensing agreements, and how much you’re spending on software that might be underutilized. 

Many organizations struggle with gaining this clarity – and the result is overspending and inefficiencies. According to Walkme, 76% of companies over-license their software to avoid audit penalties, wasting resources and adding unnecessary complexity to their software portfolios.

Lansweeper’s integration with Licenseware provides a comprehensive solution that addresses these challenges, enabling in-depth insights into your software installations and licensing requirements.

Key Benefits of SIM, Developed by Licenseware and Powered by Lansweeper

SIM offers several features to streamline software management:

• Advanced software recognition: Lansweeper scans your entire software inventory using Lansweeper’s powerful recognition technology to identify all installed software, Licenseware then ingests this software inventory and matches it against SIMs adaptive catalog
• Matching and enrichment: SIM then provides detailed insights into each software asset, enriching it with vital data points such as metric, cost, software category and more. 
• Comprehensive visibility and control: Easily understand what software you have, how you can remain compliant, how you can reduce spend and manage renewals all in one place.

Let’s take a look at four ways SIM can benefit your organization and help you understand your software estate:

1. Provides Access to Relevant Licensing Information: Many organizations have hundreds, if not thousands, of different software products installed across their networks, each with its own unique licensing model. A detailed breakdown of the licensing models for each product is helpful, but too much information can be overwhelming.

SIM surfaces only relevant licensing information, such as license models, pricing, and descriptions, enabling your team to easily understand the compliance requirements and costs associated with each product.

2. Improves Organization and Standardization of Software Installations. In sprawling software environments, it’s common to see multiple versions of the same product installed across different departments. This lack of standardization leads to inefficiencies, higher costs, and difficulty in managing software updates.

Using SIM, you can quickly identify duplicate or redundant software installations. Using this information, you can standardize software usage across the organization, reducing costs and maintenance overhead, while ensuring everyone is working with the same tools.

3. Maintains an In-Depth Software Inventory: SIM provides an in-depth overview of all the installed software across your network, highlighting the relevant products with licensing and cost implications, With this information on-hand you can make data-driven decisions about optimizing your software investments. 

SIM also helps you identify software that is nearing the end of its lifecycle or renewal dates, so you can plan for updates replacements or renewals before they become a problem.

4. Provides Rich Descriptions of Software Assets: Understanding the role and value of each software item in your organization is crucial for making informed decisions about your software portfolio. SIM offers rich descriptions of each software asset, providing insights into how it is used, what it does, and why it is important to your business operations. 

This feature makes it much easier to decide whether certain tools are essential or if they can be replaced by more cost-effective alternatives, and is particularly useful for IT teams managing large software inventories. 

Take Control with Lansweeper + Licenseware

Managing software assets is an essential part of any business’s IT strategy – and having the right tools for the job is critical. Lansweeper’s integration with Licenseware enables the visibility, control, and insights you need to make smarter decisions about your software environment. 

With a clearer understanding of your software assets, you can help your organization avoid unnecessary expenses and maintain a streamlined, efficient software portfolio.

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