An independent company with 10,000 employees, Engineering company Arup wanted an automated solution where users could choose, download and install software themselves whenever they wanted, in the fastest time possible.
1E’s Shopping is the app store for the enterprise that combines the on-demand user experience of consumer devices with the control, integration, and automation needs of corporate IT. The solution enables users to select and install their own software within minutes of the original request, in the same way, and from a similar interface, as the modern-day app stores they are used to.
They see the cost of the software at the time they want to install it. “We have reduced our software licensing bill by being transparent with users,” says Richard Barnes, Global Automation Team Leader, Arup. If they choose software that has an associated cost then they have to follow a request process. This mainly happens when their request falls outside of an Enterprise Agreement. They need to justify the reason they need that particular application which their manager gets to see and approve. “Some users realize they can’t justify, or just don’t need a full version of an application, and choose a free alternative or viewer in its place, saving on average $950 at a time.”
“We have saved $1.16 million over two years, which equates to 148,137 software installs processed and more than 37,000 man hours eliminated. These are conservative figures as we only put $12 against servicing a request and 15 minutes per application install,” says Barnes. “In reality the cost and time taken would be more.”
Branded with Arup’s look and feel, users find Shopping to be very intuitive, they are as comfortable selecting the apps they want as they would be on iTunes. Users are able to install software within 15 minutes of making a request and this automated process comes into its own particularly for employees who work out of hours. They do not have to wait until the start of the next working day to download and start working with it.
“In addition, we can be proactive about reclaiming software from users, because if they need the software at a later date they can go to the Shopping portal and download it again. This virtuous circle of reclaim and user-centric download makes our software licensing more cost-effective and efficient,” Barnes concludes.
