Virtualization an Added Headache to Managing the Business of IT

OTTSVILLE, PA, USA October 29, 2007 – Applying virtualization to create the illusion of multiple servers is a popular trend, allowing organizations to optimize the IT hardware already in place within the organization. Instead of pairing an entire server with a function, IT Operations create multiple simulated server environments on that server. While these changes extend the life of today’s current capacity, the business management of IT has to adapt to the additional complexity. Processes and automation that manage the environment must be reviewed to insure software compliance.

“Most software contacts make no mention of functioning in a virtualized environment,” stated Jenny Schuchert, Vice President of Marketing for Eracent. “Without careful examination of the contracts compared to the actual usage, organizations will exacerbate their compliance issues.”

Not all licenses and contracts will be impacted by this change, but a contract that does not mention virtual environments is a risk.

“Software contracts, like any other contract, are permissive documents,” stated Barbara Rembiesa, President of the International Association of IT Asset Managers, Inc. (IAITAM). “If the contract is silent on a specific point, you cannot assume that you are allowed to use the product in that specific way.”

Organizations that have virtualized servers and desktops will need to rely heavily on the quality and sophistication of their discovery product in order to identify the applications in use in the virtual environments, tracking where the software is installed and how it is being used. This information is vital to determine the compliant usage of licensed software.

Eracent offers a full suite of IT Asset Management, Configuration Management Database (CMDB), Software Asset Management, Software License Management, Software Compliance, IT Compliance, IT Lifecycle Management solutions that solve tactical and strategic business goals with easy to implement technology. Designed for today’s multi-platform complex environments, Eracent’s ease of implementation includes compatibility with most popular enterprise software applications and has been used to enhance the value of such widely used solutions as Microsoft® SMS™. For more information, visit www.eracent.com.

Contact Information

Jenny Schuchert

VP of Marketing

Eracent

Contact via E-mail