This conference paper was submitted for presentation at the NAFEMS World Congress 2025, held in Salzburg, Austria from May 19–22, 2025.

Abstract

With the growing demand for advanced engineering and simulation applications, enterprises face challenges in managing software assets. For global organizations, optimizing shared software license portfolios is essential for operational efficiency, collaboration, and compliance. Companies with teams across various regions must ensure software assets are accessible, efficiently utilized, and compliant with regulations, standards, and local laws. Aibel, a provider of engineering solutions in the oil, gas, and offshore wind industries, faced challenges with their global software portfolio. With teams in Norway, Thailand, and Singapore, Aibel's IT leadership needed to tightly monitor and manage software license usage across time zones. They observed sustained high license consumption'”even during project downtimes'”indicating inefficiencies and leading to significant costs. This sparked a critical investigation: what was driving this excessive consumption, and how could it be optimized? Aibel recognized the need to delve into their software consumption patterns to uncover the root causes. While they possessed the expertise to pinpoint key metrics for reducing unnecessary expenditures, they lacked the resources for a comprehensive analysis of usage across teams and regions. Without accurate usage reports, measuring the true value of their software investments proved challenging. Through granular analysis of their license usage, Aibel identified overused licenses and, more importantly, quantified their exact licensing needs. This increased visibility enabled Aibel to achieve a remarkable 99% license utilization efficiency for a core application by implementing automated harvesting of idle licenses. This optimization led their software vendor to implement an enterprise agreement based on Aibel's fully optimized user count, forging a collaborative partnership that benefited all parties involved. Aibel reduced operational costs, the vendor retained revenue from an optimized agreement, and users gained seamless access to resources under an 'œall-you-can-use' enterprise arrangement without facing denials. Comprehensive license usage analysis offers more than just a pathway to optimization and cost management. They provide companies with a structured, data-driven approach to understanding and managing their IT assets to increase business value for all parties: Users, admins, and management. By optimizing software usage, companies can enhance operational efficiency, improve collaboration across global teams, and ensure compliance with evolving industry regulations. Suppliers also value these customers that are driving maximum business value from their technology, and they are building long term relationships. They see that usage metering and optimization tools have come to stay and it can create a win win for all parties.