Normalization Mapping

What is Normalization of Software Assets?

Normalization of Software assets is the process through which a tool can analyze the received Software Asset data of an organization and convert it into actionable information for License Management. In other words, Software Asset data normalization is a software asset management process that methodically cleans and identifies data, filters out unnecessary information, and standardizes the data in a usable format. An effective normalization process would segregate the software asset details into categories such as Publisher, Title, Version and Edition. The following are some of the most important advantages of Software Asset data normalization:

Main Benefits of Normalization:

1. Enhanced Visibility of Software Assets
Normalization provides you with a definite list of software assets as per their Manufacturer, Vendor, or Edition and hence the data you have will be audit-ready. During an audit, you don't want to get surprised about software items which you own, but you are not aware of, or vice versa. Normalization also collates multiple names such as Microsoft, Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft Corporation Inc. of the same Publisher into a single group name thereby reducing the challenges of an Admin/Analyst.

2. Streamlined Classification and Categorization of Assets
After an effective normalization, Software assets can be classified and categorized in a certain way such that addition and deletion of Software entities become trouble free. New software can be automatically assigned appropriate properties based on the group it belongs to.

Example
Your company might have licenses for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Illustrator software products. With normalization, each of these stand-alone apps can be bundled together to form an Adobe Creative Cloud package. The mapping function allows users to bundle any Adobe Creative Cloud software into one, essentially "normalizing" the data and allowing users to view software as a group rather than discrete components.

Example
Microsoft products generally have versions, editions and suites associated with them – such as Office 2019 Standard, Office 2019 Professional Plus, Office 365 E3, 365 E3 and so on. Your company might have components of the suite(s) such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, OneNote, Publisher, Teams, OneDrive and Outlook. Normalization can group each of these discrete components efficiently and effectively under versions and editions with corresponding parent Publisher name. Thus, it becomes easy to manage Software Asset data.

3. Improves License Management
Software Asset data normalization gives you a detailed picture of the Licensing details of software assets that are installed in your organization. It gives you the exact count and corresponding details of the vendors, application versions, or license-required applications on your premise. The licensing details would also list out the suites and applications with their warranty start & end dates, whether they have reached their end-of-life (EOL), and so on.

4. Control over Software Environment
Knowing what you already have and what you actually need will give a definite advantage in the next software negotiation with your vendor. Software vendors usually profit from your ambiguity about the number of licenses you require. Buying licenses more than the actual requirement is a wastage of money, whereas buying too few might get you into compliance threats. Software Asset data normalization helps you to level the playing field. The normalized data gives you clarity regarding the count of licensed versions, freeware, etc. to have a better overall understanding and control of your existing Software environment.

To filter Assets for Normalization, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to Asset > Advanced SAM > Normalization Mapping.

2. Click Filter on the right top corner.

3. Enter or select the values for Filter fields as described in the following table.

4. Select Department from Field dropdown.

5. Select the required Department in Values dropdown.

6. Click icon to get another set of filter criteria.
   You may select any asset attribute in Field dropdown. Select Operator dropdown and Values drop-down as per the requirement. The fields under Search By heading in the Field drop-down are the custom attributes of the selected Tenant.

7. Select Status, Normalization Status, Category, and so on as per your requirement as each filter criteria.

8. Once all search criteria are selected, click Apply.
   
   Figure: Filter

9. The asset list to be sent for Normalization as per the filter criteria is displayed.
   
   Figure: Asset List to be Sent for Normalization

License Count Update

The Total Procured License Count displayed in the Normalization Mapping page is derived from the AdvanceSAM_LicCount column in the IM_Sup_Function_Master table (select AdvanceSAM_LicCount from IM_Sup_Function_Master). This column must be manually updated with the procured license count for each Tenant, and only after this value is entered will the Total Procured License Count appears in the UI. Normalization mapping data will be displayed only when valid license counts exist in this column. An updated script will be provided to the Cloud team to ensure this column is populated correctly.

If the Procured License Count is not updated, Normalization Mapping data will not be available.

ACTIONS

You can perform the following actions from the ACTIONS panel of the Normalization Mapping page.