Introduction
The intended purpose of this document is to define the process for updating and/or issuing licenses to Manitou systems. This document will also define the process for recording discrepancies between licensing resources.
Licensing Tracking Resources
In most cases when a customer account requires a licensing action Implementations or Support will hand the licensing or re-licensing. Technicians have 3 resources for locating licensing specific information. At this time these 3 systems all track information separately and without automation.
Licensing Spreadsheet Online
This sheet was designed to monitor Customer Accounts and their Expiration Dates. The following customer fields are tracked on these sheets: Account Number, Account Name, Expiration Date, Accounting Status, Discrepancies, and Customer Billing Notes.
CRM
The Customer Relationship Management System houses and tracks all customer-specific data for support cases, sales leads, implementation projects, and general customer information. Concerning licensing, CRM Tracks the following customer fields: Account Number, Account Name, Number of Customer
Licenses, Number of Users, etc...
License Master Server
The License Master server is where all license updates and requests are fulfilled. This server is the master for all active licenses for Manitou Systems 1.6.1 and higher. This system tracks the following fields: Central Station ID(Account Number), Account Name, and ALL Product Licensing Values.
Use Cases
Most Bold licenses issued or renewed are set to 185 day periods to coincide with the customers billing cycle. It is important to know for what purpose you are generating or updating a license, as this will drive the workflow. There are generally 4 use cases of license actions.
Renewal without Modification
The customer license needs to be updated as they were notified that it will be expiring soon. The only field to be adjusted on their license request is to update the expiration date. Standard practice is to extend the license for 185 days unless otherwise specified.
Modification
- The customer has requested a change to the number of accounts or services that are active on their account. If a license is set to expire within 30 days, verify the expiration date with the licensing spreadsheet to determine if the license can be extended without escalation.
Issuance during Re-installation
- There is an existing customer that has purchased new hardware and requires re-installation on-to the new hardware. Re-installation licenses will be set to match the previous installation with an expiration date of 185 days in the future unless otherwise specified.
Issuance for New Installation
- When a new customer purchases Manitou and needs a start to finish installation. The specific licensing requirements should be provided in the sales order or recorded in CRM. When provisioning a new license the expiration should be set to 185 days in the future unless otherwise specified.
Licensing Process
RDP into License Master Server & Software
The Bold License Master Software runs on the server named LICENSEMASTER.boldgroup.com. Access to this server is restricted to personnel who are permitted to issue and modify Bold Licenses. If you feel it is necessary to have access to this server, please escalate to your superior. Once connected to the License Master server, a daily password is required for access to the Bold License Master software. Once launched, do not change any email settings, select OK.
Importing a Customer License Request
Once a license file is generated from the customer's license client, it is necessary to import it into the License Software. After transporting the folder with licenses to be imported onto the LICENSEMASTER server and launching the License Master Software, follow the steps below to update the license file(s).
For additional Insight into License Fields, Visit the Licensing Notes Doc
Discrepancy Identification and Logging
When working with customer licenses and tracking information between 3 data sets, licensed quantities and features should be monitored for discrepancies. To correct the licensing data, a systematic process must be established to identify, correct, and log licensing discrepancies. All customer licenses are updated every 185 days, which presents 2 opportunities per year to record and correct discrepancies.
Annually Adjusted Fields to Monitor
Monitoring all fields of a customer license between CRM and License Master can be extremely time consuming and adversely affect the time it takes to complete a License Action. For this reason, the number of fields monitored for discrepancies will be limited and rotate annually. This will allow technicians to identify and log discrepancies efficiently as they complete licensing requests while gradually auditing all active customer licenses.
Currently Monitored Fields
The fields being monitored for discrepancies will change annually to encompass more fields in the customer record. For the initial phase of this process, only the following 3 fields will be Monitored for Discrepancies.
- Central Station ID/Account Number - CRM, Licensing Sheet, & License Master
- This should be a 3 to 6 digit code named Account Number the Licensing Sheet and CRM. In License Master this is recorded as the Central Station ID. Any differences between these will be noted in the Discrepancy Logging Sheet.
- Log with the Account Name/Number Discrepancy Type.
- Example: Central Station ID in License master is 708025, CRM Account number is 724, Tracking Sheet is 708025.
- License Quantity: Customer Accounts - CRM, License Master
- CRM and License Master both have the total number of customer accounts listed. License Master is considered the Field Authority as it is the active record for the customer. Any differences between these will be noted in the Discrepancy Logging Sheet.
- Log with the License Quantity Discrepancy Type.
- Example: License Master lists 2500 customer accounts, CRM lists 1500 customer accounts.
- License Quantity: User Accounts - CRM, License Master
- CRM and License Master both have the total number of Users or Manitou Concurrent Users listed. License Master is considered the Field Authority as it is the active record. Any differences between these will be noted in the Discrepancy Logging Sheet
- Log with the License Quantity Discrepancy Type.
- Example: License Master lists 10 Users, CRM lists 8 Concurrent users
Discrepancy Logging Sheet
The discrepancy log sheet exists to track the inconsistent data that is stored between the 3 locations for licensing data. The purpose of the discrepancy log sheet is to allow technicians to quickly record the discrepancies found during licensing without excessively disrupting workflow. Additionally, the discrepancy log will can act as a change-log as the 3 Licensing Resources are updated and corrected. The sheet is meant to be audited [Time Expectation, TBA] to ensure that the discrepancies encountered are being billed and licensed correctly, while also updating the missing or incorrectly entered data.
Discrepancy Entry
When logging a discrepancy, technicians are responsible for logging the following fields.
Updating License Values in CRM
If a discrepancy exists for the number of licensed customers or users between License Master and CRM is present, CRM should be corrected to the actual licensed quantity when the discrepancy is logged. The following instructions detail how to update or create these fields in CRM.
Number of Customer Accounts 1 of 2
With a customer record open in CRM, locate the No. Of Accounts in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Single-click the numeric value then update the No. Of Accounts to the value that will be licensed. Select the Save Button (Floppy Disk Icon) at the bottom right of the Page.
Number of Customer Accounts 2 of 2
Scroll down to the Licensing header and expand it while in the CRM customer record page. Double click on the No. Of Accounts line anywhere except the hyperlink. When the page opens, update the Quantity field with how many Customer Accounts are to be licensed. Select the Save Button (Floppy Disk Icon) at the bottom right of the Page.
Number of Users
Scroll down to the Licensing header and expand it while in the CRM customer record page. Double click on the No. Of Users line anywhere except the hyperlink. When the page opens, updated the Quantity field with how many users are to be licensed. Select the Save Button (Floppy Disk Icon) at the bottom right of the Page.
Summary of Process
This process has been designed to record data discrepancies found during the licensing process without adversely increasing the time it takes to accomplish licensing actions. The general assumption is that CRM, License Master, and the Licensing Sheet will all be open during a license action. Cross-referencing the discrepancy fields and logging them can be accomplished during the licensing process with minimal workflow interruption. The diagram below illustrates the intended workflow.
Example of Real Entries into Logging Sheet
Entries should be clear and concise. If necessary, enter multiple lines for a single customer if more than 1 discrepancy exists for the customer.
