Software usage tracking for applications

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

To track software usage and import this data into IT Asset Management, you need to configure and complete the following tasks in the Tanium portal. Note: These steps may require administrative permissions.

Key tasks:

• Enable usage tracking in the Tanium portal.
• Create a view in the Tanium customer portal.
• Apply filters to reduce unnecessary data.

Note: The steps below are high-level because they involve a third-party tool. For detailed instructions, refer to Monitoring Software Inventory in the Tanium Asset User Guide for Cloud documentation.

Enable usage tracking in the Tanium Portal

On the All Products screen (Software Inventory & Usage > All Products), enable the Track toggle for each application you want to monitor in IT Asset Management.

Tip: To track multiple applications at once, click Select All above the grid, then choose Start Tracking from the Actions dropdown. To stop tracking, select Stop Tracking. The maximum number of applications that can be tracked for usage per enterprise is 300.

For example, if you want usage data for Microsoft SQL Server or Google Chrome, enable the Track toggle for those applications in the Tanium portal.

Create a view in the Tanium Customer Portal

Navigate to Asset > View > Create View, name the view “Flexera Software Usage”.

Important: The view name must be exactly Flexera Software Usage with this precise casing. Do not use any variations, and ensure it is spelled and capitalized exactly as shown.

In the Select Columns from Asset Tables section, you can either search for the attributes listed below or expand and collapse the sections to locate the attributes. To select an attribute, simply click the right arrow to move it to the Columns Selected area.

Select the following attributes:

• The following attributes which are in the Asset Internal section:
  • Asset ID
  • Computer Name
• The following attributes which are in the SIU Installed Products section:
  • Name
  • Vendor
  • Version
• The following attributes which are in the SIU Product Usage section:
  • Name
  • Vendor
  • Last Used Date

Apply filters to reduce unnecessary data

Add filters to exclude irrelevant records for SIU installed products, SIU product usage, and Asset details:

SIU installed products:

• Name is not null
• Vendor is not null
• Version is not null
• Name is not empty
• Vendor is not empty
• Version is not empty

SIU product usage:

• Last Used Date is not null
• Name is not null
• Vendor is not null
• Name is not empty
• Vendor is not empty

Asset Details:

• Asset ID is greater than or equal to "0"

Verify data availability using API calls

Once the view is created, verify its availability using API queries.

List available asset views:

https://[YOUR-ENDPOINT-URL]/plugin/products/asset/v1/views

This will enable a search for the view named “Flexera Software Usage” to obtain the view ID. In this example, it is 107. The view is then queried using:

https://[YOUR-ENDPOINT-URL]/plugin/products/asset/v1/assets?viewId=107&minimumAssetId=1&limit=200

After completing the prerequisites, enable the existing Tanium PowerShell adapter to collect usage data. Once enabled, customers can view the Last Used Date for tracked applications on the Inventory Device Properties page. For detailed steps on configuring FlexNet Beacon to connect with Tanium and enabling usage tracking, refer to Configure FlexNet Beacon to Connect with Tanium.

Limitations of Tanium Software Inventory & Usage

If you want to enable the software usage tracking, you need to be aware of the following limitations:

• Application limit—A maximum of 300 applications can be tracked for usage per enterprise. Tanium does not support tracking beyond this limit.
• Platform support—SIU supports Windows and Mac endpoints only. Linux is not supported for usage tracking.
• Version handling—If multiple versions of the same application are installed on a device, only the usage (last used date) of the latest version will be recorded.