Microsoft Perpetual license - creating entitlement + allocation

[iamkurt]

We are migrating from a legacy ITAM system to ServiceNow SAM Pro.

Currently, I am onboarding (migrating) Microsoft Perpetual entitlements and allocations.

I am doing this for Visio and Project - 2019, 2021 and 2024 models - all perpetual.

By definition, perpetual licenses are allocated to devices and not users.

In the raw dump extract which I received from the legacy ITAM system, they have mentioned details containing to which person the perpetual licenses Assigned, and also to which device it is allocated.

They have mentioned many details -

User ID
Name
Serial number of the device to which it is allocated (serial number as found on cmdb_ci_cmputer form, after searching using serial number I find the asset tag)
PO number
Unit cost
Model
Department
Contract

For ex - Visio Professional 2019 is assigned to John Doe and also allocated to a device XYZ123

I know how to onboard entilements but I am unsure how to create allocations.

1. Should I create allocations on alm_entitlement_user table or alm_entitlement_asset table?

2. Should the license metric be Per User or Per Device

3. My current entilement import sheet looks like the below. Would someone please offer their ideas on whether I am doing it right? 

[dreinhardt]

Hi @iamkurt,

based on this good summary about the different types of e.g. Visio licensing, I would recommend to choose a „Per Device“ metric and add device allocation to alm_entitlement_asset table. Should be the same for the other products in case of the perpetual licenses.

https://samexpert.com/microsoft-visio-licensing-guide/

the template looks valid, in case of any missing details the SAMP entitlement upload engine will let you know.

 Best, Dennis

[iamkurt]

@dreinhardt 

Many thanks Dennis. I will take a look at the link you sent. 

If I take a PPN of Visio Professional 2019, go to alm_license , click on “Create New”, and enter the PPN in the PPN field and hit enter, the License Metric that’s auto-populated is “Per Device”

I have been advised that these licenses may be associated with user to help administrators keep track of who the original licence was procured for, but ultimately the licence should be tied to a device. Also, they want it to be user based so that if user moves out of IT , the license can be assigned to another user. 

In the legacy ITAM system, they were assigned to devices only to perform installations. 

Does that mean I should upload on alm_entitlement_asset and populated both “Allocated to” and  “Assigned to” fields so that both user and device is tracked??

Currently, I have uploaded the entitlements in such a way that the license metric is mentioned as Per User. Should I keep the license metric as per user or per device? 

Would the license metric affect reconciliation in any way? 

[dreinhardt]

Hi @iamkurt 

An unfortunate situation for you. If I understand it correctly, you are more in a technical role and are helping to transfer the data to the new system, right?

From my point of view, you can make recommendations to the license manager and secure yourself with his response, because he has to take over communication with Microsoft in the event of an audit.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with a "per user" license, it just has to be ensured that the software is not automatically installed when the user logs on to other devices to prevent them from using the software on several devices at the same time.

Please check the Software Model - Metric Attributs to get a better understanding of the licensing count per user/install in your case - https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/yokohama-it-asset-management/page/product/software-asset-mana...

Best, Dennis