This document outlines a 4-step approach to comprehensive software management: 1) Assessment to understand current software usage and licensing, 2) Validation of strategic plans through proof of concepts and ROI analysis, 3) Deployment with implementation plans and knowledge transfer, and 4) Ongoing Management through health checks, license compliance and software renewals. CDW's Total Software Management service provides experts to guide organizations through each step and help maximize value from software investments over the long term.

1. FEATURE | SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT
4 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL
SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT
A comprehensive approach is essential to mitigate the risks and optimize the rewards of modern
software environments.
Software has become a critical element of
just about any organization’s operations and one
of the most important investments a modern
organization can make. It runs core systems,
stores and protects sensitive data and ensures
that hardware operates effectively. But a host
of factors that includes virtualization, cloud
computing, and the growing complexity of
today’s applications have made managing this
vital resource more challenging than ever.
4
To learn how SAM can play a critical role in helping
to manage and secure your software, check out
our webinar at CDW.com/SAMwebinar.

2. 43%
OF THE SOFTWARE
INSTALLED ON
PERSONAL COMPUTERS
GLOBALLY IN 2013
WAS NOT
PROPERLY
LICENSED.
Source: BSA, The Software Alliance Global Software Survey,
5
Examples such as these show why a
holistic approach to managing software
resources is becoming a necessity.
Fortunately, help is available. Outside
experts can help IT departments
develop a strategy for comprehensive
software management. The best options
devise a strategic software plan to fully
capitalize on all the benefits of modern
applications, operating systems and
middleware, while mitigating risks
associated with improper licensing
and unmanaged purchasing.
For example, CDW’s Total Software
Management (TSM) service deploys
teams of technical experts that
support organizations in a range
of important areas. TSM teams:
• Assess how effectively an
organization’s software resources
are in supporting the overall
goals of the organization and
find ways to enhance value
• Provide in-depth information to
help with new product selections
• Identify and validate licensing
model choices that help save the
organization money by right-sizing
licenses to avoid noncompliance
fees or overspending for seats
• Aid in deployments of software
updates and new products,
while educating the IT staff
and users about how to get
the most out of technology
• Support long-term software
management activities with
regular infrastructure reviews
and “health checks”
“In short, we educate, evaluate
and evolve our customers,” says
Phillip Pollicove, CDW’s regional
manager for the Northeast Software
Practice and part of the TSM team.
Guiding all of these activities is a
unique strategic roadmap that TSM
advisers develop by working closely
with each organization to produce
the biggest returns on software
investments. “Unlike other software
management advisers that may
Consider these scenarios:
1. In June, a Denver-based construction
firm that specializes in the energy
industry agreed to pay nearly
$115,000 to settle legal claims that it
used unlicensed copies of Microsoft
software, according to BSA | The
Software Alliance, an industry trade
group. As part of the settlement,
the company also agreed to meet
foundational principles of proper
software asset management (SAM).
2. Industry sources say that soon after
some IT departments roll out new
applications to meet organizational
needs, the solutions become a
source of frustration rather than
support for end users. The problem:
inadequate training during the
deployment leaves stakeholders
confused about important features
that should help users to become
more productive on the job.
3. Some applications never reach
the deployment stage. Experts
say that when organizations fail to
develop a comprehensive software
implementation strategy, specialized
applications may often be purchased
to satisfy a new operational
requirement but ultimately just add
to a pile of expensive shelfware
— programs that don’t move into
production systems and thus never
deliver a return on the investment.
4. Prompted by end-of-support
deadlines and the chance to
capitalize on a host of new features,
a number of IT departments are
upgrading legacy operating systems
to newer versions. But because
of poor change management
processes, the IT staff doesn’t take
advantage of modern tools, such as
automated scripting routines, and
instead follows traditional manual
practices when pushing out security
patches and other updates. The
result: a lost opportunity to relieve
technicians of routine tasks and free
them up for more strategic activities.
CDW.com/sam | 800.800.4239
reflect a single vendor’s view, the TSM
approach provides a holistic view of
each client’s software options,” says
Jaime Waterfield, senior manager of
software services at CDW and another
TSM team member. “TSM offers an
ongoing relationship with customers to
June 2014
help them manage the entire software
lifecycle, including advice about the
servers and other hardware that will be
needed to best support the software.”
Organizations looking for the right
comprehensive software management
solution should analyze a potential
service provider’s expertise in four
key stages: assessment, validation,
deployment and ongoing management.

3. FEATURE | SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT
6
Assessment tools can help the discovery phase. For
example, CDW’s SAM solution gathers relevant information
about applications running on every networked device
within an organization. “With this data in hand, the customer
is better informed when speaking with a software vendor,”
Pollicove explains. “It knows exactly what programs are
running in production systems and require full compliance
versus those being used by the development staff, which
just stands up a program, tests it and then brings it down.”
Remote auditing capabilities within the SAM solution
help the TSM team identify necessary updates over time.
With the complexity of today’s software, it’s not enough
simply to take a headcount of each program. Organizations
also need advisers who understand the differences in
licensing models and other nuances in all major platforms.
For example, Microsoft offers the True-Up option for
enterprise-class agreements within organizations. With
True-Up, IT managers don’t have to cut a purchase order
every time an additional person starts using software
covered by the agreement. Instead, at the end of the
contract year, the organization pays a lump sum for the
number of seats required to bring it into compliance.
Vendors such as Adobe, Microsoft, Symantec and VMware
offer other types of licensing options, such as product suites
that cost significantly less than if purchased as individual
components.
STEP 2
VALIDATION: A REALITY CHECK FOR ROI
Validation is essential for narrowing the choices of
software outlined in the strategic plan and then picking
the specific solutions that will deliver concrete benefits.
This key step requires strategy briefings to map out the
organization’s technology requirements. “The reality is
that most companies rely on multiple software vendors,
and sometimes, the best solution consists of applications
from a mix of different vendors,” Waterfield says. “CDW
works to keep the customer’s best interest in mind at all
times by taking a vendor-agnostic approach. Customers
see the full choice of vendors and learn about the pros and
cons of those various choices in an unbiased way. We can
compare features, different pricing models and the hardware
requirements for each choice, all from a solution perspective.”
In some cases, a proof of concept is called for to ensure
that solutions outlined in the strategic software plan
deliver the expected benefits. This test can also identify
any incompatibilities or integration problems that may
arise among legacy software and new implementations. “A
proof of concept is especially important before a customer
STEP 1
ASSESS FOR SUCCESS
Assessments focus on an organization’s existing software
environment to determine what programs are already
running, whether they’re being used effectively and how
accurately prevailing licensing contracts reflect actual usage.
“Software audits determine how much of what’s running
is authorized by the IT department and how much is
unauthorized so you can enforce policies to get compliance
under control,” says Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the
Enderle Group, an independent consulting firm. “Until you do a
sample inventory, you don’t know how bad the problem is.”
Hiring an outside consulting firm can help organizations
avoid common stumbling blocks, he adds. “The challenge is to
institutionalize the knowledge when you have somebody else
do the assessment,” Enderle notes. “A best practice when you
bring in a third party is to have your own team work alongside it.”
To ensure success, advisers should offer extensive
experience with major software platforms, such as those from
Adobe, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Red Hat, Symantec and VMware.
Organizations should then schedule in-depth discussions
with outside advisers, operations managers and IT stakeholders
to develop an overarching strategic software plan to determine
what additional resources are needed to support operational
goals. This strategic plan will become a guide for helping the
organization use software to achieve its long-term objectives.
But first, outside specialists should help an organization
understand the software it’s already running. The gain is
full visibility. The TSM team brings together inside account
representatives along with account managers, licensing
experts and technical product specialists who make onsite
visits to customers. “This collaborative approach ensures
that everyone understands where the customer wants
to be and how they want to get there,” Pollicove says.
AIM FOR
FULL VISIBILITY

4. 7
departments might be able to free up
one or two employees who normally
perform all these manual tasks to do
more strategic activities,” Sommer says.
“Implementing automation software can
be like hiring one or two more people,
except the software is much cheaper
than paying salaries year after year.”
The combined impact of virtualization
and personnel optimizations can
reduce the time it takes organizations
to deliver new services and products,
which further enhance the ROI of
software investments. “We encourage
organizations to put a dollar value on
what it means to launch a new web app
in a day versus the competition taking
30 days to deploy something similar,”
Sommer says. “Once the organization
quantifies what that speed means, it
can roll that into an ROI analysis.”
Finally, an ROI analysis helps to
identify the right licensing model for
a particular application. In addition to
standard enterprise-class licenses,
some vendors offer other choices. For
example, VMware offers its Enterprise
Purchasing Program (EPP), which lets
organizations purchase VMware tokens
that can be redeemed for licenses and
associated support and subscription
resources. “If you really like a new virtual
storage area network that VMware
just released, you can apply tokens to
this or any other VMware software
that’s needed,” Sommer explains.
STEP 3
DEPLOYMENT WITHOUT
DRAMA
To ensure successful deployments
of new software and maximize the
value of the technology, CDW’s TSM
team can work remotely or onsite with
organizations. “The most important
step in the deployment stage is the
first conversation we have with a
client after the contract has been
signed and the organization now
owns the software,” says Pollicove.
By having this discussion, the TSM
team helps organizations get the most
out of their software investments. For
example, when an organization buys an
enterprise-class license from Microsoft,
it receives a number of ancillary benefits,
such as discounts for other products.
Additionally, the contract may offer
vouchers for free web-based training
to help end users understand how to
use new features in the software or
to offset the costs of sending IT staff
members for training to learn how to
maintain servers more effectively.
“The TSM team makes sure the
customer understands how to activate
these benefits and fully realize what
comes with the agreement, beyond just
the software itself,” Pollicove explains.
Then, drawing from the goals outlined
in the software strategy, the TSM team
works with customers to create a
complete implementation plan to quickly
get the solution running in the existing
IT environment. The plan considers a
wide range of factors, including the
customer’s budget for launching software
and related hardware and the necessary
timeline. For example, a new application
at a retailer may need to be spun up
before the crush of holiday sales.
“Software on its own isn’t going
to help an organization. It must be
configured correctly to an organization’s
individual needs and integrated into
actually purchases a solution. They
want to be sure the technology is going
to work as expected in a particular
operational process,” Waterfield says.
“We will stand up a test environment
using the customer’s hardware, or
sometimes cloud services, so they
can get that hands-on validation.”
Also important is a return-on-investment
(ROI) analysis to validate
investments and choices about
licensing models. For example, an
organization might evaluate whether
Microsoft Office 365 or Google Apps for
Business will offer the greatest benefit.
“Customers may be deciding between
two vendors or between a cloud and an
on-premises solution,” Waterfield says.
“An ROI assessment helps our teams
demonstrate the impact of each choice.”
ROI assessments also help to validate
the impact of important trends, such
as server virtualization. For example,
many IT departments manage stable
or even shrinking budgets, while
demands for services continue to rise.
With virtualization, organizations can
consolidate the workloads of 10 physical
servers into one unit. “IT managers
avoid hardware and related costs every
time they deploy a virtual server,” says
Tim Sommer, senior systems engineer
for enterprise accounts at VMware.
Applications that automate routine
IT management and maintenance
tasks offer added ROI benefits. “IT
CDW.com/sam | 800.800.4239
WE ENCOURAGE ORGANIZATIONS TO PUT
A DOLLAR VALUE ON WHAT IT MEANS TO
LAUNCH A NEW WEB APP IN A DAY VERSUS
THE COMPETITION TAKING 30 DAYS TO DEPLOY
SOMETHING SIMILAR.
— Tim Sommer,
Senior Systems Engineer for Enterprise Accounts,
VMware

5. FEATURE | SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT
the existing environment,” Waterfield
says. “The chances are high that we’ve
already completed hundreds, if not
thousands, of projects involving the
particular software that a customer
wants to deploy. That gives the TSM
team insights into the likely hurdles that
may be encountered, as well as the pros
and cons of the different approaches
that can help ensure success.”
By closely linking the validation
process with deployment activities, an
organization can mitigate the chances of
creating any new shelfware that wastes
money and hampers productivity.
The plan also outlines how best to
integrate the new resources into existing
workflows and the training that will be
required to help end users quickly become
productive with new technology. For
example, if the project is an upgrade
to the server operating system used
throughout a data center, TSM technicians
can help the IT staff become familiar
with the latest features and utilities.
“Knowledge transfer is an important
aspect of the deployment process,”
says Pollicove. “The last thing an IT
department needs is for a partner to do
an installation by itself and then have the
internal staff step in at the last minute.
If they are not involved throughout the
entire deployment in a complete team
approach, bad things can happen.”
The TSM staff creates a detailed
record of each configuration step for
the customer’s IT staff. “This ensures
that customers aren’t dependent
on our help every time they want to
change something,” Waterfield says.
STEP 4
MANAGE FOR
LONG-TERM VALUE
Total software management doesn’t
end once an organization deploys
new technology. CDW’s TSM staff
maintains close contact with each
client to help them meet the terms
8
of licensing contracts, reduce the
burden of compliance responsibilities
and ensure that the software is
delivering the expected benefits.
TSM members also perform regular
health checks — an important service
that ensures software solutions run
optimally long after the initial launch.
To achieve these results, an
organization’s IT managers team
up with the TSM staff for quarterly
reviews. TSM members also update
IT managers about any revisions to
the software they own, track any
applications that were purchased but
have yet to be deployed and then show
anything that’s not in compliance with
prevailing licensing agreements.
“The management stage is a continuing
process designed to help customers get
the most value out of their software
agreements,” Pollicove says.
The TSM staff also routinely schedules
meetings with clients several months
before an application is up for renewal.
“We spend some time letting clients
know what’s coming in any announced
software releases that are related to
what they’re already using or their
latest goals,” says Waterfield.
Similarly, the TSM team may discuss
the differences between software
versions, such as Microsoft Office
2013 and Office 365. “Once clients
completely understand what’s in each
version, they can more easily decide
why they may want to purchase a
newer product,” Pollicove explains. “Or
maybe they decide to just renew what
they already have because there’s
no need to switch versions. The TSM
team focuses on what’s in the best
interest of the organization. It’s a full,
solution-oriented approach as opposed
to looking at just an individual order.”
In addition to these discussions, TSM
experts also encourage annual health
checks for the organization’s software
operations. “Once software is in place,
that doesn’t mean the IT environment
or organizational requirements stop
evolving,” says Waterfield. “New
variables are always being introduced
that impact the performance of the
software, which means an organization
may no longer be running the
applications in a way that gives them
the full return on their investment.”
Health checks make sure that all
of the software resources are still
achieving the performance goals
outlined in the deployment plan. “We
look at health checks as preventive
care. We identify any potential risks and
problems before they become costly
and unmanageable,” says Waterfield.
TSM members run script files
throughout the organization’s IT
environment to uncover latency issues
and find system configurations that
aren’t up to standards. The scripts also
look for software that may be used
only infrequently or not at all because
of changes to the organization.
The checkups typically occur annually,
unless an upgrade or new technology
is slated for implementation and will
alter the existing environment. “Any
time something new is being introduced
into a customer’s operations, we would
recommend the health check,” says
Waterfield. “It could mean significant
problems for an organization if it connects
a new system to an existing resource
that’s not working the way it should.”
A Winning Value Proposition
Managing today’s quickly evolving
software environments can be
challenging and risky even when
organizations have a formal plan in place.
But with a comprehensive software
strategy that formalizes every step from
assessment to on-going management,
it becomes far easier to avoid the costly
consequences of noncompliant and poorly
utilized programs as they optimize the
value of their technology investments.