Program Reviews

For those with specific needs or a limited budget, the Animus Solutions Program Review applies the Animus Solutions’ Practical and Actionable Assessment™ methodology for a lightning strike evaluation, delivering focused advice and recommended actions. This 10 day program combines interviews with best practice knowledge to develop recommendations centered on one of four themes:

• Software Assets
• Process vs. Product
• Hardware Assets
• Shelfware Revisited

This service is delivered at a discounted rate to offer customers the experienced advice necessary to plan and execute the next step in their unique path to savings, performance enhancement and compliance.

Software Audit Preparation and Prevention

Whether you are preparing for an internal audit or an external one, Animus Solutions consultants can supplement your team, working on the gathering the necessary documentation through the development of intelligence for the license negotiations. The service begins with an electronic inventory that is thorough and company-wide. Other electronic sources are examined for details such as proof of purchase. Animus consultants analyze the PC and server data to build a catalog of software by vendor, application and release.

Review of software usage is the next step, providing the organization with an improved understanding of what is being used in the organization and by whom.  By calculating the number of installations per application, Animus consultants not only deliver the bottom line for the software audit, but also provide a Quick Start Software Asset Management program that if repeated, will continue to deliver fast, credible results without costing you a million to save you a million.

Planning Assessments

Any plan to improve technology management should be based on a thorough review and analysis of your organization's current business needs and objectives; technology assets; and current policies, procedures, and behaviors. A clear articulation of your fundamental challenges is the next crucial step in moving toward solution strategies and action plans. Unlike the focused Program Reviews, the Planning Assessment covers the broad spectrum of business practices within IT asset management, delivering comprehensive recommendations.

Assessment of technology includes documenting all assets and usage to help identify redundancy and maximize efficiency. Hardware, network devices, and software application usage all come into play.

The Animus Solutions’ Practical and Actionable Assessment methodology™ includes interviewing your managers, process owners, technologists and stakeholders. With their views and input, Animus measures your organization's progress toward best practices. Observed results, including complaints and problems, are analyzed to identify fundamental issues. The asset portfolio analysis reports on a combination of immediate action items and longer term recommendations in order to develop long-term compliance and savings.

At Animus, we view the assessment process as critical to moving toward a practical, successful solution.

Software Compliance Assessment

Based on the Animus Solutions’ Practial and Actionable Assessment methodology,™ a software compliance assessment must provide a complete, company-wide inventory of soft assets. This initial inventory steps can be accomplished quickly and efficiently with the help of software discovery tools. Identifying problem areas with license records and fixed asset totals help to uncover business process improvements that lead to ongoing reconciliation.

Deliverables for this assessment include a listing of software installed on PCs and servers, number of installations, and status of licensing agreements. It is essential to analyze current usage in comparison with existing license agreements to determine if there are opportunities for purchasing or negotiating more efficient agreements, or establishing more efficient deployment of applications. The software portfolio analysis delivers short term action items as well as longer term recommendations to establish compliance processes that are sustainable.

Your solution will include an automated monitoring plan to assure that efficiency is achieved on a continuing basis.

Tool Selection

As an independent advisor, we enable you to make informed, objective business decisions in managing your IT assets to accomplish business goals. In doing so, we review the most appropriate tools and assist you with planning, design, architecture, training and implementation. We are certified in all of the major software tools in the industry. We bring expert implementation of asset repository, auto-discovery software, service desk, handheld scanners, and the connectivity tools that integrate your IT Asset Management program.

Some of the tools we have expertise in:

• HP/Peregrine AssetCenter
• HP/Peregrine ServiceCenter
• HP/Peregrine Connect-It
• HP/Peregrine GetIt Suite
• HP/Peregrine PDI, PED
• HP Mercury Products
• BMC Remedy
• BMC Marimba
• IBM MRO
• IBM Tivoli
  
• Symantec Altiris
• CA Asset Management
• CA Software License Compliance
  

Process ReDesign

The Process Redesign service offered by Animus focuses specifically on the detailed improvement of targeted processes. While assessment evaluates the processes and tools to recommend value and goal achievement actions, the Process Redesign service delves deeper into those processes and incorporates recommended changes into the processes. With the help of the customer’s process owners, the Animus service team re-engineers the processes utilizing their experience in best practices and service management. The scope of this service can be set by number of processes.

The Process Redesign service follows any Assessment or Program Review service. Bridging the gap between process and tools is part of the Process Redesign service, so the customer may choose to have Animus deliver a data dictionary specific to the customer’s automation as an addition to this service.

To learn more, contact us