Polymetal is the leading company in the precious metals mining industry, which is the largest in Russia and the third largest producer of primary silver in the world, and ranks fourth in terms of gold production in Russia. The company independently carries out the entire range of works on development of ore deposits from geological exploration to operation.
Polymetal was founded in 1998 in St. Petersburg by the group of ICT companies . The main goal of the founding was the desire to create in Russia a modern enterprise for the extraction of precious metals with the main principle "from exploration to ingot". Polymetal's project portfolio includes 51 licenses with a total area of ??approximately 10,000 sq. km.
In 2012, it is planned to produce 590-640 thousand ounces of gold, 21-23 million ounces of silver and 6-7 thousand tons of copper and increase the total annual production to a million and more ounces of gold equivalent.
Starting in June 2007, Polymetal, together with the Odyssey Consulting Group, began work on analysis of the state of software asset management and the legitimacy of the software used in the company. In total, the company installed about 1,950 computers and 96 servers. The main task set by the company's managers was to optimize the company's IT infrastructure in such a way as to avoid legal risks arising from the use of unlicensed software. It is important to note that Initially, the company set a goal not only to achieve 100% legality of all software, but also to maintain this state in the future with the help of formalized software management policies and procedures. In addition, it was necessary to introduce a software tool for managing the number of installations and software licenses in the company. All these tasks are covered by the Microsoft Software Asset Management (SAM) methodology.
Maxim Volkov, Head of Administration Polymetal, says: “We did not have centralized management of software assets, policies, procedures, and even more tools of this control. There was no desire to start new software projects. When lack of licenses is 90% of the PC fleet, all you think about is how to solve this problem and never have to deal with it again".
The decision to license the software was not an easy one. “One has only to think about how a lawyer can work without Microsoft Word, and an accountant without Microsoft Excel? The fee for these features is the fee for using the software. Often very big. This is a major investment, no less important than purchasing machines or materials. Investments must pay off and be timely”, — says Anna Shapkina, Head of the Corporate Development and Information Technology Directorate of the Polymetal Management Company.
The budget was allocated for a year and a half, and during this time, the need for the necessary licenses was assessed, and the optimal scheme was selected licensing. In addition, over the past year and a half, steps and plans have been outlined to increase the level of development of the IT infrastructure in the field of software asset management processes. An order was also issued for the company on the use of licensed software and control over the execution of this order was introduced. For the entire company, a single standard of the software used was developed and approved, procedures were written to verify the amount of installed and licensed software.
The company has also implemented System Center Configuration Manager, a tool that allows you to collect data on the number of software installations and match it with licenses in a matter of minutes, thereby identifying a shortage or excess of licenses.
"Now I can say that we have realized the importance of license management and do a lot in this area. Software licenses are the most important asset in the company's work”, says Anna Shapkina. “It's very important for us to properly account licenses and manage this asset. Therefore, the advice of the Odyssey Consulting Group came in handy. After 5 years of cooperation with Odyssey Consulting Group We have reached a new level of licensing, and in February 2011 we entered into an Enterprise Agreement. It allowed us to consolidate all purchases of licenses in the CIS and get a significant discount".
The project to increase the level of IT infrastructure development was carried out in accordance with all SAM methodology standards. All stages of SAM implementation were completed:
The introduction of this technology required significant labor costs, which, however, have already begun to pay off: the use of licensed software has made it possible to significantly simplify the work of the departments involved in installing and configuring the software. There was confidence in the stable operation of programs, the possibility of a full-fledged update, which was impossible when using unlicensed software.
At the moment, the company has reached the third, rationalized, level SAM. There are three key benefits that have been achieved due to the introduction of license management technology at Polymetal.
Firstly, a single package of documents has been developed to confirm the authenticity of the software for all branches of the company. “Now we understand that licenses purchased and put into a distant drawer can play a bad service for their owners. You need to understand why and how you get them, how to confirm their authenticity and how to be sure that at any point presence of your company, all software is licensed. With the help of Software Asset Management technologies, we have this knowledge and use it effectively,” says Maxim Volkov, Head of Administration at Polymetal.
Secondly, the company has a qualified employee responsible for all SAM processes. Now we can talk about the complete centralization of license management. It is important, that this initiative is approved at the highest level in the management of the company and is supported by orders and instructions from the management. This approach will allow maintaining the IT infrastructure and its management processes at the appropriate level. “First of all, it is very convenient: to have access to distributions of the latest versions of all products, to always have the keys for installation at hand, to distribute responsibilities within the organization”, says Maxim Volkov.
Thirdly, the company has a tool for auditing software on a regular basis. Maxim Volkov notes: “Only a regular audit allows you to understand the true state of affairs with the software in the company. The good thing is that we can now do it quickly with System Center Configuration Manager. Overall, we are pleased with the transparency in software management, and it is important that we have the tools,
