Engineering software licenses are expensive company assets that demand careful management. Yet, many organizations still rely on spreadsheets and manual tracking, leading to waste, inefficiency, and missed savings.
LAMUM (License Asset Manager with Usage Monitoring) from TeamEDA brings visibility, control, and insight to your software environment. Here are ten practical ways LAMUM can help you optimize your engineering software investment.
1. Knowing What You Own
Good license management starts with understanding exactly what you own — what software, how it was purchased, its cost, usage restrictions, and expiration dates. From there, you can make informed decisions:
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Should you move from a WAN global license to LAN or node-locked?
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Can you consolidate servers or reduce total license counts?
LAMUM lets you track CAD/CAE license inventory with full details including vendor, seats, purchase order, port@host, expiration, and responsible contacts. You can view inventory by person, vendor, or discipline, making it a complete license inventory management system.
If your company has more than 25 engineers and multiple vendors, you need a smarter way to track — you need LAMUM.
2. Preparing for Renewals
Preparing for a renewal means more than waiting for a vendor quote. You need to start 30–60 days before renewal, review your past usage and pricing, and plan your negotiation strategy.
LAMUM helps by tracking renewal dates and setting up alerts well in advance. It also stores all related agreements, contracts, and purchase documents in one place for quick reference. With this visibility, you can approach renewals strategically and secure the best deal for your organization.
3. Preparing Accurate Budgets
Budget planning is a key part of engineering management. On average, 100 engineers require about $250,000 in CAD/CAE tools, but you can’t rely on estimates alone.
LAMUM allows you to track exact software spend by vendor, license type, and tool, helping you prepare accurate budgets for the coming year. It’s a powerful budgeting and forecasting tool for engineering software costs.
4. Centralizing Vendor and Contract Information
Vendor management is often messy, with critical details scattered across emails and spreadsheets. LAMUM centralizes all vendor data — including contact details, pricing terms, discounts, and associated contracts like NDAs and license agreements.
With LAMUM, teams can securely share vendor information and maintain one accurate source of truth.
5. Understanding Current License Checkouts
LAMUM gives you a real-time view of license usage across your organization:
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See how many licenses are checked out and by whom.
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Identify users holding licenses too long (“hoarding”).
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Reclaim unused licenses to return them to the pool.
You can even visualize this data in color-coded dashboards or on large wall screens for continuous monitoring.
LAMUM also tracks extraordinary long checkouts, sets automated alerts, and sends user warnings to promote responsible license use.
6. Understanding Usage Patterns and Trends
Every organization benefits from understanding how tools are used. LAMUM offers:
On-Demand Reports
Quickly access reports through browser links, SharePoint, or PDFs — with user-friendly names and layouts that any manager can create and maintain.
Batch Reports
Generate automated reports daily, weekly, or monthly, delivered by email or saved to a designated folder.
Group Usage Reports
Analyze usage not only by individual or tool but also by group — such as project teams, departments, or sites. Groups can be created interactively, through Excel, or via Active Directory.
LAMUM’s flexibility supports detailed chargeback reporting by group or user.
7. Identifying What’s Not Being Used
Unused licenses drain budgets. LAMUM identifies software that hasn’t been checked out within a given period, allowing you to reclaim or eliminate unnecessary tools.
The Zero Usage Report highlights idle assets so managers can decide whether to cancel maintenance, reallocate licenses, or schedule training for underused tools.
8. Avoiding Excess Purchases
It’s common for managers to purchase new licenses based on user complaints about denials. But often, capacity is sufficient — it’s just poorly distributed.
LAMUM analyzes denial data to help you make data-driven decisions. A 5% denial probability is considered acceptable. With LAMUM’s concurrency and checkout reports, you can verify if licenses are actually in short supply or if usage needs balancing.
This prevents overbuying and helps justify adjustments during renewal discussions.
9. Receiving Timely Alerts
Proactive alerts are essential for uptime and compliance. LAMUM automatically sends:
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Daemon-down alerts for license availability issues.
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At Capacity alerts for potential shortages.
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Expiration alerts 60 days before license expiry.
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Long Checkout alerts for expensive or high-demand tools.
These notifications ensure that issues are addressed before they affect productivity or project timelines.
10. Managing Expensive Company Assets with Best Practices
CAD/CAE licenses can easily cost $250,000 per 100 engineers. Managing them effectively isn’t optional — it’s good business.
With LAMUM, companies can save 10–25% on software costs, optimize usage, and ensure compliance. The insights provided by LAMUM empower managers to justify budget changes, maximize license ROI, and demonstrate leadership in efficient asset management.
Conclusion
It’s not about whether you can afford LAMUM — it’s about what you lose by not using it. Engineering licenses are valuable assets that deserve professional management.
With LAMUM, you can:
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Reduce waste
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Improve productivity
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Strengthen vendor relationships
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Save thousands in license costs
You owe it to your company to run lean, efficient, and informed — and to yourself to lead with innovation.
