The Health Informatics Service deploys Centen...

The Health Informatics Service deploys Centennial SAM.Suite

June 24, 2008 – Centennial Software, the leading developer of IT asset discovery and software asset management solutions which was recently acquired by FrontRange Solutions, today announced The Health Informatics Service, which provides IT services to 12 healthcare organizations across South West Yorkshire and beyond, has purchased 6,000 seats of Centennial SAM.Suite.  Working with SAMpartners, The Health Informatics Service is using Centennial SAM.Suite to finally obtain a clear view of all activity on the numerous networks it serves.

Previously, The Health Informatics Service struggled to know the number of devices supported, the software installed and configuration of those devices. Every time there was a request for asset reports, an engineer would have to be sent out to varying locations to conduct a manual audit – an exercise that would take weeks. Now The Health Informatics Service is able to discover this information almost instantaneously and decisions on support and bigger strategic projects, such as technology refreshes and compliance issues, can be made in seconds instead of weeks.

The Health Informatics Service is responsible for providing support to a large number of NHS and non NHS organizations across the north of England. It had originally been asked to do an audit for one of its key customers, Kirklees PCT, which incorporates no less than 74 different general practices, as well as all other health and medical centres in the region.

Through accredited Centennial partners, Trustmarque and SAMpartners, The Health Informatics Service initially used Centennial Discovery for 90 days as part of its software renewal negotiations.  However, the trial proved so successful that the service has subsequently purchased perpetual licenses of the full SAM.Suite solution and has extended its roll-out to the wider Strategic Health Authority. It has also helped to solve the perennial problem for network support teams in the NHS of obtaining and supplying information to GPs and has since been deployed to a large number of GP practices in the area.

Neil Asling, IM&T Portfolio Manager, The Health Informatics Service said: “When we carried out audits for the various Trusts and PCTs we cover, it was always a manual process, which meant that by the time we had finished, the information was out of date. Often the work would be duplicated for different project as the previously collected data needed to be double checked or a sometimes the data collect previously omitted the data required at this point in time. We were very happy with the ease of implementation – SAMpartners came in the morning, installed Centennial Discovery and it was working by lunchtime. The audit was completed very smoothly, but it was the further benefits which we were not expecting which truly impressed us. We can now tell Organisations exactly what is on their network from our headquarters, rather than spending unnecessary time and money on sending an engineer to a site to audit the IM&T estate. This has massive implications on our current expenditure, as it allows us to make much more informed and efficient decisions on all aspects of the IT infrastructure.”

The Health Informatics Service will be using Centennial SAM.Suite to help drive the adoption of ITIL processes within its Service Desk. Looking forward, the visibility that will be provided will assist in future investment and project decisions. The Health Informatics Service has also been able to avoid the issue of over-licensing with the deployment of SAM.Suite.

“We originally thought there were over 15,000 PCs on our network,” continued Neil Asling, “but we originally purchased 6,000 seats, as this was the licence pool supplied as part of the original survey which we have now reached and are in the process of increasing our licence pool to ensure coverage of all discovered devices. Doing it this way it ensures we are saving more money from avoiding over-licensing as we are now confident that we are not going to reach 15,000 devices. As we work towards ITIL certification, we are expecting to see more and more benefits, both in terms of productivity and cost savings, as the automated system frees up so much more resources for us.”

Tony Fisher, Managing Director, SAMpartners said: “It’s clear that the team at The Health Informatics Service is making excellent use of the information we have provided them with as a result of this project. We look forward to continuing the partnership and helping to build a world class SAM infrastructure.”

Matt Fisher, vice president at Centennial Software said: “We are delighted to be working so closely with The Health Informatics Service, to help it save time and deliver cost savings on the road to ITIL. It is always very encouraging the free trial yields so many instant benefits and we look forward to a healthy and prosperous working relationship.”

Centennial SAM.Suite is an integrated solution that comprises Centennial Discovery for full visibility of hardware and software assets across the network and Centennial License Manager for electronically capturing, validating and reconciling software license entitlements. 

- Ends -

About Centennial Software / FrontRange Solutions

Centennial Software was acquired by FrontRange Solutions (www.frontrange.com) in April 2008. FrontRange Solutions develops Service Management, IT Infrastructure and Customer Relationship Management solutions that scale with the needs of mid-sized and distributed enterprises. The company – through its FrontRange, HEAT, GoldMine, Enteo and Centennial brands – offers a unique portfolio that has been chosen by more than 150,000 organizations worldwide to help improve the effectiveness and reduce the cost of interacting with external and internal customers.

Part of the FrontRange Solutions Infrastructure Management Group, Centennial Software develops IT Audit & Network inventory, Software Asset Management (SAM) and Endpoint Security Tools Centennial Discovery, License Manager and DeviceWall enable more than 6,000 organizations worldwide to manage their IT assets, license compliance and network security. Learn how full network audit, complete control of software licenses and effective USB security solutions can help drive cost, risk and complexity out of IT operations.

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