“I didn't have to use any of my resources to do the majority of the inventory work, so I could focus on what our business needs were in contrast to collecting data to make sure that we were compliant.” Greg Schumacher, Director of IT, Riddle’s Jewelry Riddle’s Jewelry was nearing its first True-Up software license reconciliation for its Microsoft Enterprise Subscription Agree- ment. Working with Microsoft Partner Insight, the retailer com- pleted a Software Asset Management (SAM) Assist for True-Up. Riddle’s saved time and money, and gained new insight into its IT assets. The company now has increased confidence in its licensing compliance and plans to use asset data to prepare for future projects. Business Needs The IT team at Riddle’s Jewelry had an informal process for managing software licenses across dozens of retail locations. Licenses were purchased on an as-needed basis and installed by the IT team. “We didn’t really worry about licensing or what software was out there,” says Greg Schumacher, Director of IT at Riddle’s Jewelry. “Typically we knew of everything installed on company resources.” Sometimes the IT team would encounter a computer that experienced problems due to unauthorized software. Consequently, that computer needed to be remotely reloaded with the authorized applications that were within Riddle’s guidelines. In October 2009, Riddle’s Jewelry entered into a Microsoft Enterprise Subscription Agreement, part of Microsoft Volume Licensing. Enterprise Agreements run for a period of three years and require an annual census and reconciliation of software in use, called a True-Up. A variation of the Enterprise Agreement, the Enterprise Subscription Agreement offers lower up-front costs and the ability to increase or decrease licenses and sub- scription counts on an annual basis to suit future business needs. Although an informal license management method had worked for Riddle’s prior to participating in a Microsoft Volume Licensing program, Schumacher now wanted a more definitive overview of the company’s technology assets. In 2010, Schumacher attended the Microsoft U.S. Corporate Accounts CIO Summit in Redmond, Washington. He had started to think about the company’s upcoming True-Up for the Enterprise Subscription Agreement and hoped to get tips about the best strategy for the license reconciliation. Microsoft representatives recommended that he consider participating in the Software Asset Management (SAM) Assist program. Based on those suggestions, Schumacher decided to begin the SAM Assist process almost immediately. Solution After confirming Schumacher’s interest in participating in a SAM engagement, Microsoft contacted Insight, a Microsoft Certified Partner with the SAM Competency. After an initial kickoff call in September to review the SAM Assist process, the engagement progressed very quickly. Insight arranged for Riddle’s Jewelry to have access to a hosted asset discovery tool that would gather hardware and software data from the company’s 320 computers. “It was all done remotely,” Schumacher explains. “The inventory tool was deployed, and we were permitted to use it for up to 60 days.” Customer: Riddle's Jewelry Website: www.riddlesjewelry.com Customer Size: 450 employees Country or Region: United States Industry: Retail Partner: Insight Partner Website: www.insight.com Customer Profile Rapid City, South Dakota‒based Riddle’s Jewelry is a family-owned business with 51 retail stores. The company sells jewelry and offers a range of jewelry- related services. Services Software Asset Management − SAM Assist Microsoft Volume Licensing − Microsoft Enterprise Subscription Agreement − Microsoft Software Assurance for Volume Licensing For more information about other Microsoft customer successes, please visit: www.microsoft.com/casestudies Microsoft Software Asset Management Customer Solution Case Study Retailer Saves Money, Gains Upgrade and Virtualization Readiness via SAM Engagement