Getting Started With IT Asset Management

IT Asset Management enables true enterprise-wide automated software license optimization for software from top vendors such as Microsoft, Adobe and Symantec. It manages all types of desktops, laptops and other client device applications and license models. And IT Asset Management reconciles the software license entitlements you have purchased with insights into application installation and usage, allowing organizations to save on license purchases, audits, renewals and annual true-ups.

Getting Started Resources for IT Asset Management

The following resources will help you get started with IT Asset Management.

Managing IT Asset Preferences 
Using Lists in IT Asset Management 
Creating Saved Views 

IT Asset Management Help Topics

The following table provides navigation to the topics about using IT Asset Management.

IT Asset Management Help Topics

Topic

Content

Customizing the IT Asset Management Dashboard

Explains how to customize your IT Asset Management dashboard, your own personal dashboard that provides a collection of widgets representing information about IT Asset Management

Discovering and Inventorying Devices in Your Network

Describes how you can use IT Asset Management to collect discovery and inventory information about devices in your organization from a number of sources.

Identifying Applications Using Evidence

Explains how IT Asset Management uses evidence information to identify applications installed or accessed within your enterprise.

Managing Applications

Explains how to manage applications in your enterprise. Each application is assigned a status of either installed, unmanaged, ignored, deferred, or managed.

Managing Licenses

Describes how to manage software licenses and license entitlements.

Managing Hardware and Software Procurement

Explains how you use IT Asset Management to record the details of obtaining hardware and software. It records all purchases, the contracts you may have (including software maintenance or purchasing agreements) and any payments associated with those contracts, and all the vendors you deal with.

Managing Hardware Assets

Explains how to manage, review, add, and delete hardware assets, such as computers, chairs, desks, etc.

Configuring Enterprise Structure

Describes how to configure the different kinds of groups within your enterprise (such as corporate units, locations, cost centers, and categories), and how to create a hierarchical structure that represents your enterprise. You can then assign computers, users, assets, licenses, purchases, and contracts to those groups.

Managing User Accounts

Explains how to manage IT Asset Management user accounts.

Performing System-Level Functions

Describes how administrators can perform various system-level functions such as creating accounts, setting system defaults, and configuring system settings.

Viewing and Customizing Reports

Explains how to view, create, and manage IT Asset Management reports.

Maintaining and Optimizing SAP Licenses

Learn about how you can use IT Asset Management for SAP Applications features to maintain and optimize SAP licenses.

Using IT Asset Management Inventory Beacons to Collect Inventory

Describes how you use the inventory beacon to collect hardware and software inventory across your enterprise.

Warning and Error Messages

Provides additional information on various warnings and errors that may appear in the IT Asset Management interface.

Terminology

Definitions of terms used in IT Asset Management.

Additional Documents

In addition to the IT Asset Management User Guide, the following related documents are available from the FlexNet Manager Suite Cloud documentation set.

Edition:Because the documents in the following table are from the FlexNet Manager Suite Cloud documentation set, the navigation of the user interface mentioned therein relates to the FlexNet Manager Suite Cloud user interface. To find corresponding user interface pages in Flexera One, use the search box that is located at the top of the Flexera One menu navigation. For example, to find the Cloud Service Provider Inventory page in the Flexera One user interface, enter Cloud Service Provider Inventory in the Flexera One navigation search box.

IT Asset Management Related Documents (from the FlexNet Manager Suite Cloud documentation set)

Document

Description

Features by Release 

This document provides a structured reference to the different ways of deploying and using the Inventory Agent and its various components, as well as command lines and preference settings for some of the code agents that are deployed to the adopted device. You may also find the introductory matrix comparing the results of various inventory sources to be helpful.

Gathering FlexNet Inventory 

This document provides a structured reference to the different ways of deploying and using the Inventory Agent and its various components, as well as command lines and preference settings for some of the code agents that are deployed to the adopted device. You may also find the introductory matrix comparing the results of various inventory sources to be helpful.

Inventory Adapters and Connectors Reference 

This reference guide covers standard adapters available for the system that manipulate data from external systems into a format usable by IT Asset Management; and some connectors that manage somewhat simpler imports. It also includes how to use the Inventory Adapter Studio.

Using FlexNet Business Adapters 

Describes both the Business Importer and the Business Adapter Studio. The latter builds business adapters, which the Business Importer command-line executable uses to import business-related, ancillary data into IT Asset Management. This document includes the data model common to the Business Importer and the Business Adapter Studio, as well as some sample adapters (called the Data Domain Interface, or DDI). Finally, it covers how to use the Business Adapter Studio, for those who want to create their own business adapters.

System Reference 

Collects a variety of reference materials, including:

How to customize IT Asset Management
How to use spreadsheets (or CSV files) of inventory data for one-time or scheduled imports
Discovering Oracle systems and collecting inventory from them
How to set up in a single sign-on environment
And much more.

System Requirements 

Provides FlexNet Manager Suite Cloud hardware requirements, prerequisite software, network requirements, and more.

Schema Reference 

Provides a working reference to the database tables and columns for IT Asset Management. This is particularly useful if you want to prepare (or specify) customizations, or to understand more as you prepare custom adapters.

FlexNet Manager Suite for SAP Applications User Guide 

This guide is for those who licensed the FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications product, and provides operational details. This content is more extensive than the information available in this guide.

Note:IT Asset Management was formerly named FlexNet Manager Suite.

Non-Commercial Software Disclosures 

Lists all third-party non-commercial code used in IT Asset Management, with attributions and license terms.