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VMware license and contract expertise

VMware license and contract expertise

VMware is a pioneer in virtualization and cloud computing. By offering high-performance products in this area, VMware has been able to support the trend of organizations massively virtualizing their infrastructures.

VMware’s flagship vSphere platform, consisting in particular of the ESXi hypervisor and vCenter Server, is today the virtualization base for many organizations of all sizes and in all sectors.
 

VMware is a critical publisher at the heart of computing infrastructure

The VMware catalog is continually enriched with new virtualization solutions for network, storage, and even for workstation and mobility. Virtualization is at the heart of cloud computing, and VMware also offers solutions in this area.

From a pioneer, VMware has become one of the world leaders in virtualization with a rich portfolio of offerings and an extremely high penetration rate of its technologies at the heart of business infrastructures.
 

Issues related to VMware licenses and contracts

    A publisher at the heart of computing infrastructure

    VMware products and associated licenses cover all or part of the server infrastructure base. This makes VMware licensing an especially critical and sensitive topic.

    Building a complete picture of your estate

    It is essential to create a complete view of your VMware estate, in particular by retrieving information from the MyVMware portal.

    Consolidation of licenses under support

    The size of the VMware catalog and its constant evolution, the product bundles, and associated metrics make data collection and consolidation complex.

    Reconciliation of license keys

    The lifecycle and management of license keys can make it difficult to obtain a clear view of acquired and installed licenses.

    Contractual schemes

    The contractual schemes offered by VMware are not suitable for all usage scenarios. The choices made by clients in this area can have significant financial consequences.

    Advice and expertise related to VMware licenses and contracts

    Here are our main offerings related to VMware licenses and contracts. We are also happy to discuss custom services.

    • One-off VMware compliance assessment and licensing optimization plan

    We help our customers to document their installed VMware license estate and their portfolio of purchased licenses, in particular through the MyVMware portals, and to reconcile them by taking into account product bundles, VMware keys and metrics. With VCloud Suite (vRealize, vSphere), VMware NSX, and VMware Horizon, we develop compliance analyses and offer remedial actions and recommendations to reduce your VMware expenses in the short and medium term.

    • VMware audit management

    We support our clients in managing VMware audits, from the receipt of the letter from VMware to the conclusion of the audit. Our work includes scoping and audit protocol, collecting and analysing data before sending it to VMware or the auditor, estimating potential financial risk, anticipating VMware’s actions and reactions, audit strategy (during and after audit), and managing the relationship with the auditor in order to minimize the financial impact of the audit.

    See page: I am facing an audit

    • Quarterly, semi-annual or annual VMware compliance scan campaigns

    Our experts implement an iterative process with your teams to measure the evolution of your VMware compliance position, monitor optimizations and measure the impact of IT developments on your compliance position.

    • VMware contract negotiation

    Our goal is to support you in understanding and negotiating a VMware contract (including VMware ELA) that matches your genuine needs for support, services, and products and that takes into account your financial situation. To do this, we analyse your assets, benchmark your prices and clauses, and advise you in identifying the negotiation levers and the strategy to be adopted at each stage.

    See page: I need help with contract management and renewal

    • Tools

    Elée advises you on using the appropriate collection tools for each product / metric family (Core, user, etc.), including:

    RVTools exports with presence of keys for reconciliation

    vCenter export with a view by key / product / quantity and by machines / instances

    Export of administration console keys

    Exports of user / device accounts

    Use of PowerCLI scripts, exports from product interfaces, and usage questionnaires

    Your SAM tool if you have one and it can handle the required work

    SAM tools consolidate some of the elements necessary for compliance work on VMware products. We integrate them into our processes in order to take full advantage of the tools that you have already installed.

     

    See page: I am not getting value from my SAM tool

    VMware

    Why choose Elée?

    Independence

    Independence

    Our independence from VMware protects you from any conflict of interest. We help you to reduce your licensing costs and minimize the financial impact of audits.

    VMware licensing expertise

    VMware licensing expertise

    We have a team of experts dedicated to VMware licenses and contracts who fully understand the licensing rules and metrics of VMware, as well as negotiation techniques and auditing practices.

    Tooling advice

    Tooling advice

    Our consultants advise you on the best tools and guide you in how to use them to consolidate your VMware estate (RV Tools, VCenter, MyVMware portal, PowerCLI scripts, etc.)

    Field experience

    Field experience

    We work on some of the world’s largest VMware inventory and compliance calculations. Due to the great variety of situations that we have experienced, we perform our work with great efficiency and pragmatism. 

    Contractual strategy

    Contractual strategy

    Once your VMware estate has been fully accounted for, our teams can guide you in your negotiations with VMware, whether you are looking to sign, renew or leave a VMware ELA.

    Audit-ready

    Audit-ready

    Our compliance calculations and optimizations are tested daily in audits at our key customers.

    “The Elée teams were a great help in carrying out our VMware inventory, first with the amount of work required to collect and consolidate all the information from the multiple MyVMware portals of our entities around the world, then with their expertise reconciling license keys and product bundles! This work allowed us to calmly approach our ELA negotiation with VMware, where we expect to achieve cost savings.”

    Group Software Asset Manager Leading energy company

    Discover SamBox.io

    The tool designed by Elée to manage your software compliance online!

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