Solarweb unveils online tool for channel players
Software developer enters burgeoning SAM sector with ‘licenseme' portal for resellers
Software developer Solarweb is jumping on the software asset management (SAM) bandwagon by launching an online tool to help resellers select the correct licences for their customers.
Known as licenseme, the portal initially covers Microsoft licences, but Solarweb intends to add other vendors’ licences to the tool in the future.
Barney Light, Solarweb’s technical director, told CRN: “We’re a Microsoft Certified Partner and have achieved a Microsoft Custom Development competency – we have been working with Microsoft for some time.
“We want to prove the concept works with Microsoft first and then intend to roll out new programmes with different vendors as quickly as we can. We are in early talks with Adobe and Symantec,” he said.
Licenseme prompts a VAR to ask the right questions and then selects the most appropriate licence scheme for the customer, automatically generating the order for the licences once the sale has been completed.
Resellers will pay a monthly subscription to use the service and Solarweb hopes to have six ‘decent sized’ resellers signed up to licenseme within the next six to 12 months.
However, Robert May, managing director of Microsoft Gold partner Ramsac, said that Microsoft’s channel partners should already be adequately trained to sell Microsoft licences.
“There are so many Microsoft products and the line-up changes all the time so resellers do need to keep on top of things,” he said. “But my gut feeling is that Microsoft should not allow people to sell its products who do not know what they are doing. I also do not know how prescriptive this tool will be as there is often more than one licence option for a customer.”
A Microsoft representative said: “In today’s business environment, quality software is one of the most vital assets in which a company invests. Microsoft has several types of licensing agreements designed to meet all business needs. For a company to get the full business value from its software assets, it is important to manage them effectively. Microsoft and its partners offer solutions that help to ensure customers pay for what they are using, but also that they are fully using what they have paid for.”