contactContact iQuate

Uncertainty is better than certain error

September 3, 2009 – 3:11 pm

I have just spent a few hours reviewing some of our competitors products.
To be honest, I’m a tad shocked (and not in a good way).

I’m not going to (directly anyway) throw dirt at our competitors, god knows we aren’t perfect here in iQuate either (but we do try).
Specifically what I’m going to blog (read: rant) about is that we aren’t perfect, no-one can be, but it seems like several of our competitors are saying that they are, and even showing examples online where I can see that they are blatantly wrong.

Several of our competitors state that they gather information about Oracle option usage. They make much of this (as do we, because we also gather this information), they say (correctly) that one can use this information to reduce costs by ensuring you do not license options which are not used. The problem is that several of them are looking at a system table in Oracle for this information – specifically DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS – this is a very useful table and has lots of nice data in there. But our competitors (4 of them I’ve looked at today so far) are treating this as a solid and sole place to get this information, which is wrong.

Firstly, that view only exists in Oracle versions 10g and up, for 8i, 9i, etc. it just isn’t there.
Secondly, some of the information it gives you can be incorrect. For example – it will state that the Partitioning Option is in use by a user when it isn’t – it’s only in use by the system as part of the Spatial Option – which may be installed but also not in use. Using this view alone will not give you a truly accurate view of what options are really in use or not.

Similar issues abound when it comes to virtual platforms or partitioned Unix based systems and hardware reporting.

First off you need to be able to identify that you ARE on a virtual or partitioned server, then you need to find out what type of virtualization or partitioning is taking place.
Secondly you need to find out what hardware this thing thinks it has, and what hardware the underlying physical platform is actually running. While doing this you will find out which boxes are virtualized on which servers, which is also very useful information.

Do both of those things and you have the information you’re likely to need for an Oracle License audit for example. Again, many (most?) of our competitors don’t even seem to try, or are technically unable to identify when a server is virtualized.

I for one would always favor uncertainty over statement of flawed information as solid fact. We also get data from DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS for example, it really is useful and definitely has it’s place, but it isn’t the be all and end all for information on option usage, even in version 10g and up.

Don’t tell me this machine is running Partitioning unless you REALLY know. Don’t tell me that it has 4 processors if it really has 2 dual core and don’t tell me it is a server when it’s really a virtual server. If you can’t be certain (and we are not always certain on everything) tell me you are not certain, tell me what you know and what you think you know and let me make a decision as to what to do with that information – don’t tell me it’s fact unless I can rely on it.

iQSonar can gather information on one topic (ie: CPU details or whether Partitioning is installed and in use) from multiple sources. You can prioritize this information, dictate that answer B is best, but I’ll take answer A as second best if B is not available – you should always know which data came from where and how much trust to place on that data – before spending your money buying too many options for too many processors and spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars that you really shouldn’t.

Anyway – rant over.

JK

By Jason Keogh | Posted in Success Stories | Comments Off

Accuracy in licensing can mean massive savings!

July 10, 2009 – 1:52 pm

I have been remiss in my blog writing (nothing new there) – but some fairly amazing numbers came out from an audit I performed last week. They highlight some of the dangers in manual audit/inventory work and I thought it was blog worthy…

To set the scene: Large european government department. Circa 70,000 users. Oracle wants to audit said department and has been trying for over a year to get an accurate picture of the deployments of their software in order to accurately negotiate a deal.

The department has hundreds of locations spread across a country. Lots of data centers, lots of servers, little time to spend gathering audit information… BUT – they spend some time, in one particular data center over a 3 month period they audit circa 200 servers to complete an Oracle Server Worksheet (OSW) – and they find 15 machines running Oracle.

The person running the license program finds out about iQuate, thinks it could be a good idea to validate the findings and we spend 1 day on site scanning the same 200 machines in the same data center.

The results are pretty astonishing. Manual audit finds 15 machines with Oracle installed, all running. We find 22 (3 of these had Oracle installed, but it wasn’t running, so could be removed). Manual audit says 42 processors (all bar 1 processor noted as single core) on the machines running Oracle, we find 28 processors (all bar 4 of which were actually multi-core…). The manual audit says €1,200,00 worth of Oracle software deployed. The automated audit (which found more machines!) says €800,000 worth of Oracle running on the machines.

€400,000 savings in a single data center, representing about 10% of the total server estate – within a proof-of-concept framework (ie: VERY minimal cost to the organization in question!).

Obviously, we are engaging with the government in question to extend the scope of this audit to 100%, rather than just 10% of the estate. The savings should be massive, the effort in deployment minimal. Speed, accuracy and cost savings – blog worthy I thought :)

JK

By Jason Keogh | Posted in Success Stories | Comments Off

2,000 Devices audited in 2 days across 3 continents

April 15, 2009 – 6:07 pm

With offices in 6 countries a multinational mineral exploration company struggled to compile an accurate inventory of hardware and software. Some of the offices were located in remote and difficult to access locations and connected to corporate HQ by only a 256k high latency satellite based connection.

Time image

Management wanted a network inventory tool that did not require agent software to be installed on machines to be audited. The company selected iQSonar. The result: 2,000 machines were scanned in 6 countries across 3 continents in just 2 business days.

With the inventory created, management had full details of what physically exists on the network, including all hardware (servers, PCs, network devices, printers, etc.) and software. The detailed reconciliation of software in use resulted in savings of in excess of €400,000 on Oracle licenses.

By iQuate | Posted in General | Comments Off

Municipal Authority Saves €40,000 Annually on Microsoft Licenses

April 12, 2009 – 3:38 pm

How one of Ireland’s largest municipal authorities, Cork City Council, managed the renewal of its Microsoft enterprise software agreement.

How Many Licenses Are needed?

After a period of expansion and conscious of rising software costs, the IS Department at Cork City Council planned an audit of it’s network to establish license requirements.

In particular, they wanted to find out how many MS licenses were required organization wide.  From there they planned to audit all software on the network to ensure full licensing compliance.

cork_city_council

The Search for An Automated Solution

After relying on manual inspection and user reporting to complete previous software inventories, the Council decided to implement an automated solution –  iQNetScan.

The detailed inventory of software throughout the Councils many offices, identified a host of underused software, as well as hardware.  MS license savings alone amounted to almost €40,000 annually.

In addition to identifying how many licenses were required, IS management identified where hardware, or software upgrades were required to achieve desktop uniformity.
Implementing Helpdesk Functionality

In addition to implementing iQNetScan, Cork City Concil implemented iQuate’s remote monitoring and helpdesk solution.  We will let solution David Power, of the Authority’s IS Department explain:

“iQuate’s software allowed us to deal with our IT asset management and support desk issues in a cost-effective manner. It has made our systems more efficient and improved how we offer support to our PC users. This has obvious financial implications as we are able to optimize our IT system for the benefit of both our staff and also to the people of Cork to whom we provide services.”

By iQuate | Posted in Success Stories | Comments Off

Managed Services Provider Boosts Margins by 15%

April 12, 2009 – 3:19 pm

Managed services provider, Data Electronics Group, has increased its margins by 15% since implementing a new managed services platform from iQuate.

By automating the day‐to‐day management of client networks, as well as its own data centres, iQRMS has enabled DEG to expand its customer base by 30%.  It has also helped catapult the company into the Deloitte Fast 50 for Ireland in 2007.

Big Company Technology Available on a Small Budget

Implementing iQuate’s Helpdesk, Remote Monitoring and SLA management platform, called iQRMS, represented a key turning point for DEG.  It enabled the company to automate Helpdesk and Service Level Management, using technology previously limited to large organizations with big budgets.

The Benefits Achieved

‘Ensuring that our customers’ systems are constantly available is critical for us’ explains Data Electronics Managing Director; Maurice Mortell.  We asked him to point out some of the advantages of the system:

- iQRMS automatically gathers critical fault and performance data from clients’ networks, making our job easier and allowing us to concentrate on proactively supporting our customers.

- We can quickly navigate through event data, pinpoint specific problems and access vital information that allows us to take corrective action before small issues become big problems.

- As the software is agentless, as well as easy to configure  DEG was able to set up clients within minutes and start generating a return on their investment almost immediately.

- The software provides our customers with a secure portal to access realtime information on the services being delivered to them.

By iQuate | Posted in General | Comments Off

Unlicensed Software Fines – Utility Company Asks ‘Could We Be Next?’

April 12, 2009 – 2:34 pm


When  a  local  company  was  fined  for  using  unlicensed  software,  management at Tampa Bay Water  asked  ’could we be next?’.  The honest answer was ‘maybe’, making an up to date inventory of software a priority.

Manual Auditing Is Not Feasible

“We  needed  to  know  at all  times  what  software  was  installed  on  our computers,  but it simply wasn’t feasible to have my five Systems guys continually checking PCs and laptops individually’ explains IT  Manager Dave Detwiler.  Thus, began the search for an automated solution to monitor what software was installed and in use throughout the organization.

Tampa Bay Water Logo

Finding A Solution

TBW selected iQNetScan based on its international search for a network auditing solution.  Within hours, the software was installed and a detailed inventory of software underway.  This was possible because, unlike many other solutions, no agent software needed to be installed on PCs and servers to be scanned.

We will let Dave Detwiler tell the rest of the story:

‘By deploying iQNetScan across the company network we were able to make more educated decisions when purchasing new, or replacing existing software.   This eliminated any potential for either under or over licensing.

‘The proactive nature of iQNetScan meant  that our IT personnel were notified immediately if any unwanted software was detected on our network, or if mandatory software had been removed.’

iQuate – More Accurate IT Inventory

iQuate provides the tools to monitor and audit hardware and software to a level of detail, accuracy and speed that was previously not possible.

On the basis of this new and up to date information managers can; cut costs , maximize security, ensure compliance and otherwise more effectively manage their IT.

By iQuate | Posted in Success Stories | Comments Off

Software Free-for-All Threatens Desktop Refresh

April 12, 2009 – 12:45 pm

One of the UK’s largest banks had launched an ambitious desktop refresh programme but, with users selecting software on a whim, skyrocketing costs threatened to derail the initiative.

City buildings

Software Free for All

A desktop refresh programme had been launched, covering a total of 13,750 machines.  However, initial budgets had quickly proved inadequate, as user software requests were gathered.

Across the organization users were adopting a shopping list mentality – requesting new software for their replacement machines without regard to budget, or requirements.   But, the bank had no way to validate what was previously installed in order to do a like-for-like replacement.

Although there were a number of network inventory tools in place they did not provide a detailed and accurate inventory of software installed and in use.  A new means of gathering this information was required, with iQSonar selected as the best solution.

All users were provided with like-for-like software on their new desktops. Exceptions were managed carefully requiring management sign off.  As a result the project was delivered with savings of approx. £2.4m in software license costs.

An Accurate Inventory

iQSonar was employed to create a accurate inventory of software on all machines across the network.  This was completed in a matter of days, providing managers with a full view of software to be upgraded, as well as  unused and unwanted licenses to be harvested.  It also provided a complete inventory of all PCs, including machines to be scrapped, or redeployed.

iQSonar enabled Managers to move more rapidly and accurately through the refresh process, achieving the following benefits:

- Save money by reusing existing software licenses

- Avoid purchasing unnecessary software licenses for new products

- Save time and rework by ensuring the refresh is right first time

iQSonar – The Solution

The solution is a new breed of network audit, inventory and monitoring tools that provide managers with a detailed and accurate picture of all hardware and software on their network.

iQuate’s audit, inventory and monitoring suite, called iQSonar, enables organizations to discover, scan and track all PCs, software and devices in realtime, pinpointing; licensing, utilization, compliance and other issues.

By iQuate | Posted in General | Comments Off

Global Network Services Provider Avoids Penalties

April 12, 2009 – 12:23 pm

Managing the network infrastructure for some of the world’s largest companies is demanding, but inadequate information regarding the networks to be supported adds unnecessarily to cost and complexity.

Poor Inventory Information Costs Money

Our client – one of the largest global network services providers – suspected that some customers were being under billed, because support was being extended to infrastructure and machines beyond what was anticipated.

In addition they knew that shortcomings in terms of information on the networks they were supporting, was costing money in other ways too.  That is because some contracts stipulated the  delivery of an accurate asset register and non-performance in this area was resulting in monthly penalties.

office building

How to Scan 100,000 Devices Globally?

The services provider was faced with challenge of completing network inventories across a diversity of client networks, involving multiple sites and a variety of protocols and standards.  Then, once such an inventory was complete, keeping it up to date.  The existing patchwork of tools was clearly insufficient.  Thus, began the search for an alternative.

Enter iQSonar – chosen because of its speed of implementation.  It enabled the client to scan the top 17 customers for the network services – in less than 14 weeks.  That involved scanning more than 100,000 devices globally.

While previous tools had taken weeks to audit even a small site with a few hundred devices; iQuate scanned thousands of devices per hour without any impact on the client’s network.

The Benefits

The IT inventory data was put to immediate use – resulting in:

- The avoidance of penalties, where inventory data was required by the end customer

- A dramatic increase in billing, as well as more precise billing methods (billing based on port usage, etc.)

- Improvement in service by pin pointing network issues  (e.g. devices were not configured consistently; did not have consistent security access).

iQSonar – The Solution

iQuate’s audit, inventory and monitoring suite, called iQSonar, enables organizations to discover, scan and track all PCs, software and devices in real time, pin pointing; licensing, utilization, compliance and other issues.

By iQuate | Posted in Success Stories | Comments Off

Organisation finds 90% of PCs Running at 3am on Saturday Nights

April 12, 2009 – 11:18 am

Using network intelligence (provided by iQSonar) to cut energy costs, managers in one financial institution also reduced it’s IT related carbon footprint.

city buildings

Having read somewhere that a server can have the same carbon footprint as 2 SUV’s, one of the institution’s IT team suggested running a network inventory at the weekend.  The results of a network scan by iQSonar were astounding – with 90% of PCs found to be running at 3am on a Saturday night!

The scan showed that most machines could be powered off at night and energy saving settings implemented.  Based on analyst data that put energy savings for a PC and monitor at approximately £50 annually, Management estimated that energy bills could be cut by £500,000 annually as a result of basic changes.  In an era of cost cutting and rising energy costs, these savings were welcome indeed.
About iQSonar

iQuate’s audit, inventory and monitoring suite, called iQSonar, enables organizations to discover, scan and track all PCs, software and devices in real time, pin pointing; licensing, utilization, compliance and other issues.

By iQuate | Posted in Success Stories | Comments Off

Cisco Switches Reach End of Life

April 12, 2009 – 11:02 am

One of our large UK customers recently received notification from Cisco that certain models of switches were approaching end of life and would soon be due for replacement.

Needless to say such a major refresh of this infrastructure had not been budgeted within the current year, indeed with stinging IT cuts generally it was very unwelcome.

connections

The vendor had provided the company with a tally of switches employed and a proposal for replacement.  But, for management, that was not enough.

Using iQSonar a complete and independent inventory of Catalyst switches was created in just 2 days.  It provided detailed information, including serial number, software version, location and, of course, details as to whether the switch was actually in use.

Using the information gathered Management completed a compatibility matrix identifying end of life hardware, version upgrades required, etc.

The vendor’s revised proposal, this time based on the company’s own verifiable information, resulted in 6 figure savings.

By iQuate | Posted in Success Stories | Comments Off

Copyright © 2009 iQuate