The application

Hardware and software asset management has been out since the dawn of time. Companies need to know what they have brought and who is using it. This model becomes slightly more complex when the assets are less tangible and in the cloud. The licensing models are different, users might share keys and it won’t relate to a physical device like traditional software.

The application was designed to bridge this gap. A thin client was installed on the users system which allows an administrator to audit physical device hardware and software and assign that to user. With the addition of an an administrator to record who has purchased any online subscriptions and share that virtual software across the business.

The user would have a platform which lists all the hardware and software they have assigned to them, which is traditionally not that transparent to the user. For the administrator they have a more granular representation of all the software purchased by the business, the costs associated and licenses which are not allocated.

All online services will be launched from the site, which would mean for the first time an administrator would be able to see the usage of the online software, something which would have only been available for installed software. This information would help an administrator to see if the online software should be unsubscribed. It would also allow the cost of the online software to be shared across the business therefore helping decision makers make a true cost versus value evaluation for all software purchased.

Having the administrator portal online was also strangely unique for Asset Management at the time. The software was always bundled with build management solutions which were also traditional software installed on systems. This often led to organisations which have Linux, Windows and Mac based systems having to use multiple services. Moving the portal online removes this need. It also means a different type of job role in the business can look up the reports. A decision maker or financial auditor would be able to login, rather than a system administrator. It also means rules can be setup to send notifications to inform users that software is available to them to use, or to an administrator to suggest certain software is a wasted cost to the business.

The other element which this product led itself to, which traditional asset management software did not, is the other items which an employee has allocated to them which is not a physical computer. Such as desk phone, mobile device and tablets. Helping create more rich portfolios of the cost of that individual to the business and checklist when that person left.

Marketing Site

The application needed a separate digital tool to promote the SaaS application, communicate the various subscriptions and handoff the payment to the SaaS payment and billing functionality. Having the marketing component as a sperate identity allowed it to be flexible, hosted in a different location and separate user data and lead information.