Solved: Data Platform vs. FNMS ARL

mfranz · ‎May 14, 2019

Hi,

A SAM customer approached me asking about Data Platform. From what I understood, there is an integration possible between FNMS and Data Platform to use Data Platform for application recognition. But I am not sure about how useful it really is at point of time.

Can someone please draw me a picture, what Data Platform really can do in comparison to the FNMS ARL? Does Data Platform incorporate the complete ARL? Or are there limits in scope, like only specific publishers?

Best regards,

Markward

ChrisG · ‎May 16, 2019

While the story is likely to change in the future, at this point in time (May 2019):

Current FlexNet releases have a out-of-the-box inventory adapter that will import data from Data Platform (or, more accurately, from the Normalize component that is part of Data Platform). So it is possible to have Normalize import data from sources such as SCCM, and then have that data subsequently imported by FlexNet without FlexNet having to connect to the original source. The Data Platform Integration chapter in the FlexNet Manager Suite Inventory Adapters and Connectors Reference PDF describes this adapter.
To support this data flow, the Flexera Content team has identified a mapping for many (but not all) of the normalized applications in Technopedia to applications in the ARL.
Be aware of constraints and limitations for this data flow which are documented in the Reference PDF linked above. Some constraints of note are: Normalize does not have an out-of-the-box extractor to extract inventory gathered by FlexNet agents; Normalize cannot extract and pass data through to FlexNet for managing licenses that require specialized data, such as IBM sub-capacity licenses, Oracle Database licenses, and SQL Server. With these points in mind, I see the integration being most useful for organizations who have Normalize already deployed and are now looking deploy FlexNet.
One interesting benefit of having data flow through Normalize in this way is that socket count information is available and imported into FlexNet. Socket counts are not something that can be gathered automatically, but Normalize is able to augment gathered inventory with data from Technopedia to provide the socket counts.

(Did my reply solve the question? Click "ACCEPT AS SOLUTION" to help others find answers faster. Liked something? Click "KUDO". Anything expressed here is my own view and not necessarily that of my employer, Flexera.)

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ChrisG · ‎May 16, 2019

While the story is likely to change in the future, at this point in time (May 2019):

Current FlexNet releases have a out-of-the-box inventory adapter that will import data from Data Platform (or, more accurately, from the Normalize component that is part of Data Platform). So it is possible to have Normalize import data from sources such as SCCM, and then have that data subsequently imported by FlexNet without FlexNet having to connect to the original source. The Data Platform Integration chapter in the FlexNet Manager Suite Inventory Adapters and Connectors Reference PDF describes this adapter.
To support this data flow, the Flexera Content team has identified a mapping for many (but not all) of the normalized applications in Technopedia to applications in the ARL.
Be aware of constraints and limitations for this data flow which are documented in the Reference PDF linked above. Some constraints of note are: Normalize does not have an out-of-the-box extractor to extract inventory gathered by FlexNet agents; Normalize cannot extract and pass data through to FlexNet for managing licenses that require specialized data, such as IBM sub-capacity licenses, Oracle Database licenses, and SQL Server. With these points in mind, I see the integration being most useful for organizations who have Normalize already deployed and are now looking deploy FlexNet.
One interesting benefit of having data flow through Normalize in this way is that socket count information is available and imported into FlexNet. Socket counts are not something that can be gathered automatically, but Normalize is able to augment gathered inventory with data from Technopedia to provide the socket counts.

(Did my reply solve the question? Click "ACCEPT AS SOLUTION" to help others find answers faster. Liked something? Click "KUDO". Anything expressed here is my own view and not necessarily that of my employer, Flexera.)

kfindlay · ‎May 16, 2019

This is something we're working on here in Oz at the moment, and as Chris notes there are limitations to this at the moment, so I would tread very lightly.

The links between the ARL and Data Platform at this point in time are very focused and no where near complete. If, like us, you don't use the FNMS Agent and rather consume discovery from many many other discovery tools there is still value in Data Platform for its superior recognition matching and much larger catalogue.

However, the limitations that exist due to the progress made by Flexera, at this point in time, may require customisation's to get the full benefit out of the solution. Only Flexera can provide you those timelines. The customisation would need to be able to pass Data Platform catalogue information through to FNMS for anything that is NOT currently matched.

At this stage, I've not seen any real statistics around what has actually been matched, so it will depend on your own footprint and the types of vendors you have in your space whether it would be of value PLUS whether you utilise any of those other features in FNMS that would be missed by using it (sub-cab, Oracle, SQL etc ).

Karyn @ Westpac Oz