Asset Management Suite

In Asset Management Suite (AMS) version 7 software purchases are linked to software licenses. A software purchase that is entered into the system but not linked to a software license is the same as throwing away those software licenses that were purchased. They will never be counted in the software compliance report. What a waste!

In normal business process you would not skip this step but it can happen; especially if you are migrating from version 6.5 where software purchases were not permanently linked to a software license contract. The new software management framework and licensing model allows us to look for orphaned software purchases, those that are not currently linked up to a software license, and correct the situation.

The following report will list the unlinked software purchases and with a right-click action, permit you to edit it and link it to a software license contract record.

1. You can create the report in any folder you would like. I would suggest you put it in the Reports > Service and Asset Management > Contract Management > Software Licensing.
2. Right-click on the folder where you are going to create the report and select New > Report > SQL Report.

   

3. A screen is going to come up with a lot of code already in the Parameterised Query (please don't mind the Australian spelling of Parameterized). Don't worry, we are going to get rid of the code that is already there.

   

4. First, let's give the report a name. Click on the header “New SQL Report”. Even though it doesn't look like it, that is an input field where you can put in your own title for the report. I called it "Software Purchases Not Linked to a Software License".
5. Highlight all of the code in the window and remove it.
6. Now type in the following (much simpler) code. Don't worry about upper and lowercase or extra spaces or lines; it doesn't matter in this SQL code.

   
   SELECT [Name], [_ResourceGuid] FROM vSoftwarePurchase WHERE [_ResourceGuid] NOT IN (select SoftwarePurchaseGuid from vContract_SoftwareLicensePurchases)

   
   If you have done it right, it should look something like the following:

   

7. Now, click on the Drilldown tab (it will say updating for a moment). The next couple of steps are a little tricky so keep track where you are in the process.
8. First we are going to click the Remove button (I know…there is an explanation in the middle of the page if you want to read why).

   

9. Click the Add button.

   

10. Change the following:

    
    Here is what it will look like

    

    1. Event: Right-Click
    2. Performs: Show Context Menu
    3. Action Configuration: _ResourceGuid
    4. Display additional resource tool items in the menu <- select this check box
11. Now click the Preview button at the bottom of the page to give it a test run. You should be able to right-click and select Editon any software purchase in the report.

    
    Note: See another Connect article to allow you to assign a software license from editing a software purchase. The article is called Associating New Software Purchase to Software License in 7.0.

    

12. If there were no errors, you can click the Save Changes button and you are done!

    
    If you did get errors, you can go to the Data Source tab and then the Resolved Query tab to try and figure out where you might have done a typo.

I hope this helps you save money by not over purchasing software entitlements because they were not properly linked to the correct application.