Leader in automotive and industrial products
The company minimized extraneous license purchases thanks to OpenLM solutions giving a deep visibility into their license pools
Producing cutting-edge power transmission products on a global scale for industries as diverse as automotive, agricultural, mining, industrial equipment and oil and gas, this company employs over 15,000 people across 30 countries.
Their R&D departments employ some of the brightest engineering minds in the world, and they continually push the envelope of what’s possible for their customers. This means a heavy dependency on software tools both for design and support purposes. They were an ideal candidate for our services.
The Challenge
The company employs a diverse staff of scientists, researchers, and engineers at offices around the globe. Their software usage is equally varied, pulling in titles from the worlds of CAD, analytics, and lab management. Some of the most common packages include Creo, SolidWorks, AutoDesk, MiniTab, Sample Manager, Ansys, and MARC. Most of these vendors use FlexNet (FlexLM) to manage their licenses.
After a thorough accounting of their license management procedures, they realized they needed help. As a global enterprise, they found that time zones and communication difficulties were interfering with their ability to effectively use the licenses they already owned, often resulting in unnecessary and costly license purchases. They needed a way to use their existing license pool more efficiently.
We were impressed with how easy it was to get our systems talking with OpenLM.
They examined multiple vendors, looking for the right balance between cost, features, and ease of use. They needed a package that integrated well with their standard procedures and could handle license allocations across different business arms and time zones. They learned about us through other software vendors and were impressed by our offerings. Eventually, they settled on OpenLM and contacted us about giving our product a try.
Implementing OpenLM companywide
Our client rolled out our software across their full footprint, focusing exclusively on scientific and engineering applications. They were hopeful that our focus on these sorts of products would give us an advantage over the other solutions they’d looked at.
We won early kudos from their global IT departments. They found the installation and integration process to be fairly painless, which was a welcome surprise. Rarely does enterprise-wide software distribution happen without significant headaches.
They were impressed with how easy it was to get their systems talking with ours. When they had questions, they took advantage of our extensive training and support options. Faster than they’d originally planned, the system was up and running.
The Benefits were Immediate and Long Lasting
In short order, the company began to see benefits using OpenLM. The software provided them deep visibility into their license pools, helping them manage denials and cost allocations across their varied servers, applications, and business areas.
They’ve been able to eliminate a considerable amount of waste, minimizing extraneous license purchases when adding new users.
These benefits have rippled out to every location where they do business. They say they’re using fewer licenses and using them more efficiently than ever before. They weren’t willing to share the exact dollar amount that OpenLM has saved the company but they said it was significant and well worth the investment.
They’ve continued to be happy users of the product, upgrading to version 4.2. Their IT departments are thankful for the help OpenLM provides. They gain insight into how their license pool is being used across all vendors and packages, including an accounting of purchased features that aren’t being used. The robust reports provided by the software aid them in communicating with upper management.
Management appreciates the fact that they’ll be ready if they ever face a potentially costly software audit. If they had it to do again, they would purchase OpenLM without reservation. It has made a huge difference for their engineers, their IT staff, and their bottom line.
They wholeheartedly recommend OpenLM to anyone trying to manage a large license pool on their own. And we very much appreciate their kind words.
