Workplace politics may need addressing before AppClarity can be deployed to find and reclaim unused software in a company.

1. SOFTWARE USAGE MONITORING AND WORKS’
COUNCILS – IT CAN BE DONE!
WORKPLACE POLITICS MAY NEED ADDRESSING BEFORE APPCLARITY CAN BE
DEPLOYED TO FIND AND RECLAIM UNUSED SOFTWARE IN A COMPANY
GEOFF COLLINS
1E

2. Introduction
Many systems management tools such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007
have the ability to monitor application usage. When combined with AppClarity from 1E this can be
used to find and reclaim unused software. This technology has enabled 1E customers to make
substantial savings in their software spend, but sometimes the politics can be more complex than
the technology.
Works Councils
Works Councils are prevalent in Germany (Betriebsrat), and are also found in France (Comité
d'Entreprise), the Netherlands (Ondernemingsraad) and many other countries across Europe. They
are primarily intended to protect and promote the rights of the employees in an organization and
can wield a great deal of power within an organization. These lobbying forces can often prevent IT
changes that have a perceived impact on end users. Understanding the motivations of the Workers
Councils can be key when it comes to moving forward.
Tracking User Activity
Workers councils have traditionally been very strict about ensuring that any new monitoring tool
cannot be used to prove that a worker was not using their PC. It is usually argued that this
information could be used to unfairly persecute workers and at the least make working conditions
unpleasant and at worst result in unfair dismissals. Unfortunately this has meant that many IT
projects that would be great for the business have stalled because of concerns raised by the Workers
Councils.
Application Usage Monitoring
Application usage monitoring such as Software Metering in Microsoft SCCM is a classic case of
something that could be used to monitor user activity on a PC and hence is often met with much
scepticism by the Workers Council. Many organizations believe that this is an impassable obstacle. It
doesn’t have to be.
A Two Part Solution
To move forward two steps are recommended. One involves people and the other involves
technology. The former involves working with the workers council to help them to understand that
this will not result in worse conditions for workers – and could substantially improve them. The
latter involves enabling Software Metering in such a way that user information is minimized, but it
can still be leveraged by a tool such as 1E AppClarity to eliminate software waste.
© 1E Ltd. 2011 Page 2 of 4

3. Part One: Working with the Works Council
Understanding that the Works Council exists to defend against possible job reductions or people
being put under unreasonable pressure is key. It is important to help them understand the goals of
the project, what data will be collected, what it will be used for and who will have access to it.
1. Stipulate that any information gathered will only be used for software waste analysis. Offer
to put this in a written agreement between the works council and the IT department.
2. In tough times many organizations are forced to make cuts to jobs and employee benefits.
Point out that this initiative is about getting rid of software that no one is using. Cost saving
like this has almost no user impact. This is actually great for the employees – the sort of
thing that a modern works council should be advocating.
3. Some works councils have agreed to automated unused software reclaim on the condition
that software should not be removed without giving the user the opportunity to opt out.
This is a technically achievable option which may be a key negotiation point.
4. Microsoft ConfigMgr allows restriction on who can view raw data. Using this in conjunction
with 1E AppClarity means that a software manager could only see software centric reports
and have no ability to trace this back to a user.
5. Metering in Microsoft ConfigMgr can be restricted to collect much less information than is
commonly understood. It is possible to measure application usage without any user
information being captured. The following section discusses how this can be achieved.
Part Two: Enabling Metering… Safely
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager contains a central control file (called
SMS_DEF.MOF) which tells the system how much information to capture. An engineer can edit this
file before activating the Software Metering Agent to instruct the system not to gather any user
data. The process is very simple; most administrators should be able to review the file and change
any user related lines from “TRUE” to “FALSE”.
Once the software metering agent is enabled a review of the permissions should be done. It is
recommended that the objects containing metering data be secured so that only AppClarity can
access them. This means that there is no possibility of any data being used by unauthorized admins.
Finally, metering traditionally requires that rules be set up for each and every application that will be
monitored. This gives rich information about frequency and duration of usage – more than might be
acceptable to Works Councils. AppClarity has a proprietary analytics algorithm that does not require
these rules.
© 1E Ltd. 2011 Page 3 of 4

4. How 1E AppClarity adds value
AppClarity is a focussed solution from 1E that has been built to eliminate software waste within
organizations. It has the following capabilities that add value to Microsoft ConfigMgr:
 Unused Software Analytics without any requirement for metering rules to be configured.
No rules equal less sensitive data being captured.
 Automated removal of unused software. The admin sets a policy and the user is notified
and given an option to opt out.
 Business centric reports. Managers can see the financial value of unused software reclaimed
and what’s left out there.
Conclusion
With a little persuasion and some technical expertise, 1E AppClarity and Microsoft ConfigMgr can be
used to save significant amounts of unused software within organizations that have Works Councils.
© 1E Ltd. 2011 Page 4 of 4