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IntelliFest 2012International Conference on Reasoning TechnologiesINTELLIGENCE IN THE CLOUDUsing Niyum to Select Software Licensing Agreements Paul SnowSourcePulsePaul van den BergCoander

About the SpeakerPaul SnowRules Management Chief Architect, SourcePulsepauls@sourcepulse.comIn 2001, Paul implemented his first Decision Table based Rules Engines using English like Domain Specific Language for the Texas TIERS project. He went on to implement a similar Rules Engine for AMS (now CGI) in Ohio. His third implementation became the basis for DTRules, an Open Source project. DTRules is used by Maximus Inc. in production systems in New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. DTRules forms the foundation for Niyum, an Enterprise Rules Engine licensed and supported by SourcePulse.2

Paul started his professional career as driller at Neddrill an oil and gas exploration contracting company in the Netherlands. There he moved into IT, and has developed into a senior consultant with 25 years of interfacing with Executive Management Teams. He has worked with energy, finance, consumer products, manufacturing, and other industries.

Since 2007, Paul has been focusing on IT procurement and IT vendor management issues which appeared to be common on the projects across industries. His work on licensing on average saves clients more than 40%Paul van den BergIT Sourcing Strategist, Technology architect Coanderpaul@conander.com

Case Study: Dutch Court System11500 users, nationwide distributed over 25+ locations

Case Study: Dutch Court SystemProject was the First in the Netherlands:

Large scale Windows 7 Deployment

Large Scale Deployment of Solid State Technology

47% Reduction in Energy Consumption

Case Study: Dutch Court System14 Million Dollars Saved using Rules Based Analysis

Savings of 60% on Microsoft Licences Fees

The Rules Based Analysis Implementation was completed on Time, and on Budget

Program Health continuously checked by KPMG

Case Study: Dutch Court SystemFirst Step: Large Account Resellers/Microsoft

Microsoft proposed 22.4 Million to get Started $1,947 per user!

Plus Development and Support

Funding at this Level was Not Possible!

There was no Clear Understanding by Anyone on how to Assemble the Software Products Satisfy the Business Requirements

9Assets and RoadmapsTrack your EA over all your AssetsEA and Asset ManagementDeployment Planning and TimingMatching the EA with your RoadmapAdditional Products? Select Agreement?Steps to Solving the ProblemAssets and RoadmapsTrack your EA over all your AssetsEA and Asset ManagementDeployment Planning and TimingMatching the EA with your RoadmapAdditional Products? Select Agreement?EA and Asset ManagementClients CanlendarAdditional Products? Select Agreement?Assets and RoadmapsYou cannot negotiate without goals and dataAsset management inventoryComplete purchasing records with historyMatched to the hardware it is running onKnow the invisible: Client Access Licenses (CALs), entitlementsYou must know what you useWith an EA, you could be buying Office for every deviceWhether the user ever writes a memo, populates a spreadsheet, builds a PowerPoint deck, or notYou must be able to quantify running serversOnly running servers require licensesWhat is the maximum # of Windows Server instances that you will run simultaneously?Inventory tools may discover backups, multiple images, unused server applications that don't need licensesTrack your EA over all your AssetsDeployment Planning and TimingMatching the EA with your RoadmapAdditional Products? Select Agreement?Desktop software is the most difficult to trackThe EA is all about desktops: Windows, Office, the rights of clients to access servers

Any device or user can use any version of any product covered by the EANo requisition required for every PCNew, replacement desktops are covered immediatelyNo need to individually track the software. Just track the device or the user

The RiskIf you can't track who is using what on which device and how it got there, you cannot NOT renew your EANo negotiating leverageAssets and RoadmapsEA and Asset ManagementTrack your EA over all your AssetsEA and Asset ManagementMatching the EA with your RoadmapAdditional Products? Select Agreement?You don't need licenses until you deployOn the release date?After SP1 and 6 months evaluation and testing?Don't deploy and wait for the following version?Ask yourself:When did we stop using Windows XP?Released in Oct. 2001. How long did you use it?When did we stop using Office 2003?Released in Nov. 2003. How long did you use it?When did we start retrofitting Windows 7?How long after the Aug. 2009 release date?When did we start retrofitting Office 2010?Released in May 2010Assets and RoadmapsDeployment Planning and TimingDeployment Planning and TimingTrack your EA over all your AssetsEA and Asset ManagementAdditional Products? Select Agreement?Track your EA over all your AssetsClients CanlendarAdditional Products? Select Agreement?Your qualified desktop/user count is based on the count on the anniversary date. Are some anniversary dates better than others?

Tax datesSeasonal employmentSummer students and internsFiscal yearPush true-up costs into the next fiscal year with agreements that coincide with the fiscal year

Assets and RoadmapsMatching the EA with your RoadmapAssets and RoadmapsEA and Asset ManagementDeployment Planning and TimingMatching the EA with your RoadmapAdditional Products? Select Agreement?Clients CanlendarAdditional Products? Select Agreement?For new agreementsHow important is it for everyone to have standard desktop licensing?The bank: 90% of our employees will use Windows and at least part of OfficeThe engineering firm: a small number of clerical, marketing, planning staff need Office; a large number of engineers don'tAre we ready to do a companywide, retrofit deployment of the latest software now?For renewalsHow does Microsoft's product release roadmap compare with our product deployment roadmap?You don't get your money back if you don't deploy the upgrade within 3 yearsBut not committing now can mean higher costs laterTrack your EA over all your AssetsAssets and RoadmapsTrack your EA over all your AssetsEA and Asset ManagementDeployment Planning and TimingMatching the EA with your RoadmapAdditional product discounts are not always bestNot a problem with a Platform EA and >15,000 seatsYou'll always get Select DOrganizations with 50,000 License Options!We had to build decision trees to unravel the license rules We hired an IT advisory specialist from KMPG to validate our approachWe had to negotiate with Microsoft for three months !

It helped that 4500 of our users were judges !What we want to do:Collect Information about an Organization through a series of Questions over the WebApply our rules, and pick the licensing options that fitLook up the prices on those optionsDisplay a report

QuestionSever

Rules ServerThe Idea is to have a separate Question Server from theRules ServerThe Rules should beAvailable from the Cloudvia a Browser or an Application

Question ServerQuestion XMLNiyum Rules ServerWeb ServiceBrowserhttpApplicationsApplicationsApplicationsRule Set XMLsWeb Service

Niyum Workstation: Leverages Eclipse, Excel, and Java Use of Excel to Edit Decision TablesUse of Excel to Define the Structured Data that the Decision Tables processJava/Eclipse to Compile the Tables into XMLProvides for Validation, Testing, and Analysis of Rule Sets

Question ServerQuestion XMLNiyum Rules ServerWeb ServicesNiyum WorkstationhttpRule Set XMLs

NiyumManagementServerRule Sets, Question Sets, and other artifacts are deployed to Niyum Server using a BrowserHow Does Information Flow through the Microsoft License Application?

Niyum Rules ServerBrowser1Questions

Question Server

Browser

Niyum Rules ServerQuestion ServerAnswers2

Browser3Answers

Niyum Rules ServerQuestion Server

BrowserProcess Rules4

Niyum Rules ServerQuestion Server

Look up PricesBrowserProcess Rules5

Niyum Rules ServerQuestion Server

Browser6Results

Niyum Rules ServerQuestion Server

Browser7Report

Niyum Rules ServerQuestion ServerNiyum: A Good Fit for this ApplicationDecision Tables represent complex tests wellEnglish like syntax makes the rules easy to understandSmall foot print, and easy integrationXML deployment of Questions and RulesGreat support for testing/debugging Rule SetsRules Authoring (Workstation and Cloud based)Flexible licensing

A Decision Table suggestSA == trueorgProfile == "Agressive"orgProfile == "Stable"orgProfile == "Current"orgProfile == "Growing"userCount > 250OtherwiseN Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y *

X X X X X X XX X Xset suggestSelectPlus = true;set suggestEA = true;set suggestOtherPrograms = true;ActionsConditionsConditionTableActionTableThe Second Component of Niyum and DTRules is the Decision Tables themselves

Niyum and DTRules use the classical four quadrant Decision Table format for expressing Rules.

We have a set of tests (Conditions), a Truth Table for the results. These pick out a column for the actions to be performed, and a set of Actions.32A Decision Table suggestSA == trueorgProfile == "Agressive"orgProfile == "Stable"orgProfile == "Current"orgProfile == "Growing"userCount > 250OtherwiseN Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y *

X X X X X X XX X Xset suggestSelectPlus = true;set suggestEA = true;set suggestOtherPrograms = true;The Second Component of Niyum and DTRules is the Decision Tables themselves

Niyum and DTRules use the classical four quadrant Decision Table format for expressing Rules.

We have a set of tests (Conditions), a Truth Table for the results. These pick out a column for the actions to be performed, and a set of Actions.33

Context

For all OrganizationsFor all results where the Recommended Program == EAOrganizationOrganizationOrganizationOrganizationResultResultResult[Invoice][Invoice]Result[Invoice]ResultThe Context Section Queues the Objects to Test and manageIn this example, we have a Decision Table which applies to all Publishers, and the Books of these publishers that meet certain criteria.

The Table should be applied to all Publishers, and to all of the books of each of these publishers whose topic keys include flowers, Louisiana, and Zydeco.

DTRules would set up the context then execute this table. It would then repeat, with a publisher and a qualified book in the context each time.

Thus the Conditions and Actions execute with a particular publisher and a particular book in the context.

In this example, this Decision Table would execute 8 times.34

Decision Tables Specify the Evaluation of other Tables in their Actions. Niyum and DTRules allows a Decision Table to specify in the actions the execution of another Decision Table. That Decision Table inherits the context defined in the calling Decision Table, and can add to or modify the context for its own execution, and for any Decision Table it calls.

After a Decision Tables execution is complete, control returns to the calling Decision Table, and any modifications to the Context by the called Decision Table is unwound.

If the top Decision Table in this diagram is processing publishers and books on Louisiana, then this first child table might then look at books on Texas and compare the Texas books to the Louisiana book (which is still in the context).

The second child table could put the customer in the context and possibly add the book on Louisiana, Flowers, and Zydeco to the customers virtual shopping cart (assuming that it qualifies given these other tests).

Note that whatever the first child might have done to the context comparing the Louisiana book to the books on Texas, the context is reset by the time the second child table is called to consider adding the book to the customers shopping cart.35Niyum Provides a Mechanism for Harvesting Submitted DataUpon an error the Data can captured to debug Rule SetsA percentage of captured Data can be used for impact analysisCaptured Data can be used for performance testing

Question ServerNiyum Rules ServerBrowserAnswers

Data Set

Niyum WorkstationNiyum Provides a Mechanism for Harvesting Submitted DataNiyum Test Generation:Niyum Rules operate against typed, structured dataTest Generation uses English like constraints on data elementsTest Generation solves those constraints and produces Test Cases that fits those constraintsNiyum Testing:Execution of entire Test Suites are SupportedExecution of groups of Tests within Niyum Workstation provides Coverage ReportsTest Suites can contain:Captured Tests, Generated Tests, and Hand created Tests

Getting the Job DoneAutomatic Test Generation allowed us to test the License Rule Set with a wide range of inputs outside of the applicationTest Capture allowed us to debug odd results and errors outside of the applicationTest Suites and coverage reports allowed us to identify corner cases that had not been testedA Business Case which got Funded!Green IT - lower CO2 with a 47% Energy SavingStandard, Stable, and Flexible IT infrastructureSupport for Remote AccessNew! Multimedia, Video ConferencingFoundation for:Compliance with Dutch Government StandardsDigital Accessibility (a more Effective Judiciary)Digital courtResultsResultsThe Rules Set for the Niyum Rules Engine presented today allowing us to quickly assess the License needs of an organization and achieve a 30% to 60% reduction on their Microsoft Licensing costs Demohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb7INuRwbqQYou can watch a video of the use of the Microsoft License Advisor at the following link:The Next Stage: Monitoring Licenses in Real Time

Coander Consulting or SourcePulse do not not speak for Microsoft, nor do we guarantee that our interpretations of Microsoft's licensing rules, policies, and related data are those of Microsoft. We are not responsible for harm resulting from any actions you take. You should get the applicable rules, interpretations, and prices from Microsoft before beginning any project or purchase. Fine PrintQuestions?Demo Result Screenshot