License Asset Manager with Usage Monitoring vs. Do It Yourself / Home-Grown Solutions for License Monitoring

Introduction to License Management Options

Managing expensive engineering software licenses, such as those for EDA, CAD, and CAE applications, is a critical task for organizations aiming to optimize costs and ensure productivity, especially with remote work has become more common. The decision to build a custom (do-it-yourself or home-grown) license management solution or purchase a commercial tool like TeamEDA’s License Asset Manager with Usage Monitoring (LAMUM™) requires careful consideration. Virtually any solution can be built given enough time, money, and expertise, but organizations must focus on their core competencies, such as engineering and design, rather than diverting resources to non-core activities like tool development.

Building custom license management tools may seem cost-effective initially, but it often leads to down-stream that lack the robustness, functionality, and best practices of commercial alternatives. Justifying in-house development to “keep people busy” is inefficient when state-of-the-art tools are available at a lower overall cost and better ROI. LAMUM offers a comprehensive, proven solution designed to maximize savings, improve efficiency, and support engineers and designers, including those working from home. This white paper compares the drawbacks of home-grown solutions with the benefits of LAMUM, helping organizations make informed decisions.

The Risks of Home-Grown Solutions

Developing and maintaining home-grown license management solutions presents significant challenges that can undermine efficiency, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness. Organizations typically encounter two scenarios with home-grown solutions:

Scenario 1: Existing Home-Grown Code

Many organizations rely on legacy home-grown code that has been in use for years. While it may be functional and cost-free to maintain in the short term, it often suffers from limitations:

Limited Functionality: Legacy code may lack critical features, such as detailed utilization reporting, concurrency analysis, or automated alerts, which are standard in commercial tools. This can hinder effective license management and obscure opportunities for cost savings.

Limited Usage: If only a small group uses the tool or receives reports, it may not meet the needs of the broader organization. Understanding why others are not using it – whether due to lack of awareness, poor usability, or inadequate functionality – is crucial.

Maintenance Challenges: Legacy code often lacks dedicated support. If the original developers are unavailable, bugs or updates become difficult to address, increasing operational risks. Outdated or absent documentation exacerbates this issue.

Opportunity Costs: Maintaining home-grown code diverts skilled personnel from core engineering tasks to non-core activities, reducing productivity and innovation in areas that align with the organization’s mission.

Missed Savings: Without comprehensive reporting, organizations may fail to fully understand usage patterns, dependencies, or denial rates, missing opportunities to save up to 20% or more on licensing costs.

Scenario 2: Developing New Home-Grown Code

Some organizations consider writing new code for license management, typically for two reasons:

Cost Avoidance: The assumption that building in-house is cheaper than purchasing a commercial solution ignores opportunity costs. Developing a robust tool requires significant time, expertise, and ongoing maintenance, which diverts resources from core competencies. LAMUM, by contrast, offers a cost-effective, ready-to-use solution with proven results.

Perceived Lack of Suitable Solutions: Organizations may believe no commercial tool meets their needs. However, this often stems from not evaluating state-of-the-art solutions like LAMUM, which provides comprehensive license management and utilization reporting tailored to engineering software.

Relying on minimal or basic functionality to save costs is shortsighted, akin to accepting partial efficiency in other critical business areas. Home-grown solutions rarely match the sophistication of commercial tools developed by specialists who understand industry best practices. Choosing a limited solution risks competitive disadvantage and missed savings, making it a “penny wise, pound foolish” decision.

Why Choose LAMUM for License Management

TeamEDA’s License Asset Manager with Usage Monitoring (LAMUM) is a state-of-the-art, web-based solution designed to address the complexities of managing engineering software licenses, including support for remote work environments. Unlike home-grown solutions, LAMUM is built on more than sixteen years of expertise and incorporates industry best practices, delivering significant savings, usability, and functionality.

Key features include:

Intuitive Interface: A user-friendly, web-based GUI ensures accessibility for managers and engineers, with shared access and configurable permissions.

Comprehensive Vendor Management: Tracks vendor and reseller information, including contacts and contracts, in a centralized repository.

Complete License Inventory: Manages both shared (e.g., FLEXlm, Reprise, and other license managers) and node-locked licenses, with feature-product mapping for clarity.

Detailed Tool Information: Includes part numbers, disciplines, and pricing for full transparency.

Extensive Reporting:

Inventory Reports: Provide a complete view of license assets.

Utilization Reports: Offer insights into usage patterns, including historical data, concurrency reports, and user detail reports.

Current Checkout Status: Displays real-time data by vendor daemon, feature/tool, or user.

Specialized Reports: Cover reserved, borrowed, and queued licenses.

Visual Analytics: Features colorful, 3D graphics and exportable .jpg (and other formats) images for presentations and analysis.

Automated Alerts:

Long Checkout Alerts: Identifies licenses held beyond set limits to prevent hoarding.

Capacity Threshold Alerts: Notifies when all licenses are checked out or approaching capacity, indicating potential shortages.

Expiration Alerts: Tracks renewal dates and license key expirations to ensure timely renewals.

Support for Remote Work: Enables engineers and designers to access licenses efficiently from home, with features like the Available License Alert to reduce wait times.

LAMUM’s comprehensive functionality eliminates the need for organizations to develop or maintain their own license management tools, freeing personnel to focus on core engineering and design tasks.

By implementing LAMUM, managers can:

Improve effectiveness in managing expensive engineering tools.

Gain visibility into usage patterns and dependencies to optimize license allocation.

Achieve significant cost savings, often exceeding 20%, by rightsizing license inventory.

Earn recognition for implementing a robust, cost-effective solution that aligns with organizational goals.

TeamEDA specializes in comparing customers’ contractual entitlements against actual utilization to identify gaps, surpluses, and optimization opportunities. Whether an organization is new to license management or seeking to enhance existing processes, LAMUM provides a full suite of tools to deliver actionable insights and maximize ROI.

About TeamEDA, Inc.

TeamEDA, Inc., headquartered in Derry, NH, is a leader in integrated software licensing management for engineering applications. With its proprietary License Asset Manager with Usage Monitoring (LAMUM™), TeamEDA combines asset management and usage monitoring into a best-in-class solution that no manager’s toolkit should lack. With 16 years of expertise, TeamEDA delivers state-of-the-art tools that optimize license management and drive cost savings. Learn more at teameda.com.