Asset allocation and reconciliation system

Abstract

Systems and methods for a software asset management, license compliance, and reconciliation techniques are disclosed. Software licenses come in many different types, including but not limited to, subscription based licenses, geographically restricted licenses, globally available licenses, production only licenses, standard shrink wrap licenses, network concurrent usage licenses, etc. With fewer applications being installed directly onto end-users machines, tools that only scan local networks and search hard drives are becoming less effective. Disclosed techniques introduce additional capabilities for software asset discovery, tracking, license allocation, and other functions as part of a comprehensive software asset reconciliation engine. For example, the disclosed software asset reconciliation engine may be configured with sub-engines to perform groupings of discovered information to allow system administrators and license administrators to properly allocate and monitor software application usage across an enterprise and ensure compliance against a purchased inventory of licenses of different types.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cloud-based computer system, comprising:
 a memory partition;   a network interface communicatively coupled to one or more processing units and the memory partition, wherein the memory partition comprises computer instructions that when executed by the one or more processing units cause the cloud-based computer system to:
 initiate a probe of one or more computer systems of an enterprise, the probes configured to determine software application usage statistics for each of the one or more computer systems, the software application usage statistics comprising information for identifying compliance with license requirements for software applications corresponding to the application usage statistics; 
 obtain license information identifying software application license availability across the one or more computer systems of the enterprise; 
 correlate the software application usage statistics with a first grouping selected from at least one of a department of the business, business unit of the enterprise, cost center of the enterprise, and a country of use; 
 prepare a compliance report indicating discrepancies between the software application usage statistics and the software application license availability, the compliance report including information about the country of use for at least one software application having license information indicating a restriction of use based on country; and 
 identify a plurality of remediation options available for non-compliant usage of at least one of the software applications, the remediation options including purchase rights and at least one of: creating allocations, removing allocations, removing unallocated installations, and removing unlicensed installations. 
   
     
     
         2 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the compliance report provides information restricted based on an identified publisher or set of publishers. 
     
     
         3 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 1 , further comprising instructions to cause the cloud-based computer system to:
 correlate the software application usage statistics with a subgrouping different from the first grouping and selected from at least one of a department of the business, business unit of the enterprise, cost center of the enterprise, and a country of use.   
     
     
         4 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 3 , further comprising instructions to cause the cloud-based computer system to:
 apply a right of entitlement only to users or devices that have a software installation and match the first grouping and the subgrouping as defined in the right of entitlement.   
     
     
         5 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 4 , wherein the requirement of matching the subgrouping increases a number of dimensions that must be matched between the user or device prior to applying the right of entitlement. 
     
     
         6 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 4 , wherein users or devices that have a software installation and do not match the first grouping and the subgrouping as defined in the right of entitlement are considered unlicensed installations. 
     
     
         7 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the compliance report comprises a true-up cost to correct for at least one identified discrepancy. 
     
     
         8 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the software application usage statistics identify use of a subscription based software application. 
     
     
         9 . A cloud-based computer system, comprising:
 a memory partition;   a network interface communicatively coupled to one or more processing units and the memory partition, wherein the memory partition comprises computer instructions that when executed by the one or more processing units cause the cloud-based computer system to:
 obtain information describing attributes of one or more computer systems of an enterprise, the attributes identifying software application usage statistics for each of the one or more computer systems, the software application usage statistics comprising information for identifying compliance with license requirements for software applications corresponding to the application usage statistics; 
 obtain license information identifying software application license availability across the one or more computer systems of the enterprise; 
 correlate the software application usage statistics with a first grouping selected from at least one of a department of the business, business unit of the enterprise, cost center of the enterprise, and a country of use; 
 correlate the software application usage statistics with a subgroup selected from at least one of a department of the business, business unit of the enterprise, cost center of the enterprise, and a country of use, wherein the subgroup is different from the first grouping; 
 prepare a compliance report indicating discrepancies between the software application usage statistics and the software application license availability, the compliance report including information pertaining to users or devices not matching the first grouping and the subgrouping as defined in the license information; and 
 identify a plurality of remediation options available for non-compliant usage of at least one of the software applications, the remediation options including purchase rights and at least one of: creating allocations, removing allocations, removing unallocated installations, and removing unlicensed installations. 
   
     
     
         10 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 9 , wherein the compliance report comprises a true-up cost to correct for at least one identified discrepancy. 
     
     
         11 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 9 , wherein users or devices that have a software installation and do not match the first grouping and the subgrouping as defined in the license information are considered unlicensed installations. 
     
     
         12 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 9 , wherein the compliance report provides information restricted based on an identified publisher or set of publishers. 
     
     
         13 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 9 , wherein the compliance report comprises information regarding potential upgrades of software applications identified in the software application usage statistics to address at least one identified discrepancy. 
     
     
         14 . The cloud-based computer system of  claim 9 , wherein a global right of entitlement may be applied during correlation and considered to match any value of the first grouping or the subgroup. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to configure a computer system to:
 obtain information describing attributes of one or more computer systems of an enterprise, the attributes identifying software application usage statistics for each of the one or more computer systems, the software application usage statistics comprising information for identifying compliance with license requirements for software applications corresponding to the application usage statistics;   obtain license information identifying software application license availability across the one or more computer systems of the enterprise;   correlate the software application usage statistics with a first grouping selected from at least one of a department of the business, business unit of the enterprise, cost center of the enterprise, and a country of use;   correlate the software application usage statistics with a subgroup selected from at least one of a department of the business, business unit of the enterprise, cost center of the enterprise, and a country of use, wherein the subgroup is different from the first grouping;   prepare a compliance report indicating discrepancies between the software application usage statistics and the software application license availability, the compliance report including information pertaining to users or devices not matching the first grouping and the subgrouping as defined in the license information; and   identify a plurality of remediation options available for non-compliant usage of at least one of the software applications, the remediation options including purchase rights and at least one of: creating allocations, removing allocations, removing unallocated installations, and removing unlicensed installations.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the compliance report comprises a true-up cost to correct for at least one identified discrepancy. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein users or devices that have a software installation and do not match the first grouping and the subgrouping as defined in the license information are considered unlicensed installations. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the compliance report provides information restricted based on an identified publisher or set of publishers. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the compliance report comprises information regarding potential upgrades of software applications identified in the software application usage statistics to address at least one identified discrepancy. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein a global right of entitlement may be applied during correlation and considered to match any value of the first grouping or the subgroup.