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What Would You Change?

Volume License Administrators Who Use NI's Volume License Manager, we need your feedback.  Leave your responses in the comments.  Thank you in advance!

 

If you could change just one thing about VLM, what would it be?

 

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Message 1 of 7
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Add a Volume License annual renewal justification report.  Here are the features: 

Purpose:  To create a document that can be used to get cost approval signatures from many departments so that the whole combined renewal can get approved.

Input user names grouped by department that pays renewal, LabVIEW array of clusters of arrays so each group can have its own size.

Input NI renewal quote

Output report cost per department to renew listing the names in that department.  Example rows are departments, columns are type of license (I manage a dozen types).  Cells therein are user names.  At right most column is the cost per department.  I do this in a spreadsheet, the math is built in such that adding a name to a cell adds the cost of renewing that license to his/her department.  Multiple names in one cell add that many licenses to that department.  The quote total is entered on the top of the report and the department costs are totaled at the bottom of the right most column, these are checked to match.

Output at the bottom is a table with the department heads of each department for their signature and date.

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Note:  I invented this form years ago and used it to get into the VLA program.  Once all the separate departments signed their approvals the higher ups were good with the cost.  I was surprised that it worked then, now its an annual chore to do it all over again, so build it into NI-VLM.  Maybe more new VLA will result.

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Message 2 of 7
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I would eliminate this [Apply Changes] button. Is very easy to forget it. Just using standard windows buttons on the dialogs (e.g. OK and/or APPLY) would be sufficient. Don't know the rationale behind it thought.

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Message 3 of 7
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Add tools for managing disconnected licenses.  I would like to be able to ask my users to open the NI-License-Manager on each of their disconnected licensed computers and click a button to generate a simple annual usage report.  The report would only include generic stuff like number of days LabVIEW was used and separately number of hours.  The report could also show the simple statistics for paid toolkits that are part of their license.

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NI-VLM application would have a way to display the statistics across all users.  This would help to make sure the right users have the licenses.  Sometimes there are users that want a license and don't have one while other users have a license and don't use it.

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Message 4 of 7
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Allow international license pools.

I work for an international company that has over 200,000 employees around the globe.

We are actively hiring software developers in numerous locations.  Unfortunately there is huge resistance to getting NI software licenses in many locations because they each have to manage their own software costs and server (if using VLM).

When it is a yearly cost of around $2K per developer whether they use it or not, you will almost never get new users.  Many managers will not sign off on the cost because they usually haven't seen the value.

 

When the license pool is centrally managed, our license administrators can charge a monthly cost which is much easier to justify to a manager.  You will certainly end up selling more licenses because it will be much easier for new users to come on board.

 

In my location we can no longer justify the yearly cost of maintaining the minimum number of licenses required for a VLA.

We will likely be switching back to local licenses.  Considering that the size of our engineering department is increasing, this is a bad sign for NI.

Troy - CLD "If a hammer is the only tool you have, everything starts to look like a nail." ~ Maslow/Kaplan - Law of the instrument
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Message 5 of 7
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Thank you for your suggestion.  Your salesperson will be in contact with you for options.

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Message 6 of 7
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Yes please.

I would also like that tool.

In addition I would like a report including both named-user licenses and computer-based licenses of the same product.

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Message 7 of 7
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