Rentokil Init ial is one of the largest business services companies in the world, operat ing in the major economies of Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Africa. It employs 79,000 people in 49 countries and is focused on delivering outstanding service to its wide range of customers.

Like any global organization, IT plays an integral part in the smooth running of the business. It allows the company to stay competit ive and maintain innovation, but being such a large organization also means that its IT infrastructure is incredibly complex. The requirement to ensure t ight IT software asset management to help manage software compliance and control expenditure has become increasingly important as Rentokil Init ial’s growth has been both acquisit ive and organic.

Alongside the need to gain central control of its asset management, the company was keen to ensure that it was compliant with the likes of FAST (having achieved Bronze level accreditat ion) and ITIL. Bryan Kinsella was appointed CIO in 2007 and highlighted one of his many

challenges. “Over recent years Rentokil Init ial had acquired and disposed of a large number of businesses. Historically software acquisit ioning was completed on a local basis so we did not have a clear understanding of our enterprise in terms of compliance or numbers. We needed to get controls in place as quickly as possible.”The need to introduce a global software asset management (SAM) solut ion was agreed and Martyn Howe, Director of IT Services at Rentokil Init ial began the process of evaluat ing potent ial partners.

After evaluat ing other suppliers, Rentokil Init ial looked to FlexNet Manager for Microsoft from Flexera Software to deliver its SAM solut ion. With a number of impending software audits, Rentokil Init ial expedited its implementat ion of FlexNet Manager for Microsoft and used the opportunity to develop its standards for the procurement of software and hardware at a global level.

Howe said, “Once the implementat ion of FlexNet Manager for Microsoft was complete, we found we were significant ly over licensed. While we suspected there

would be some level of over licensing, we were surprised at the level it had reached. We discovered that local procurement had resulted in employees re-purchasing equipment such as laptops, and at the same t ime purchasing new software even though there was no need to do so. Our over subscript ion in the UK alone represents a six figure sum and we have introduced a freeze on UK license purchasing unt il the over subscript ion has been consumed.” FlexNet Manager for Microsoft allows Rentokil Init ial to combine asset inventory, software usage, contract terms, purchase order data, and licence compliance management. Software Asset Management is a key component to successful IT asset management, and once implemented, it provides quantifiable business value. As IT departments become much more accountable on the levels of ROI to the business, SAM will play an increasingly important role.

An important next phase of the project will be to extend the use of FlexNet Manager for Microsoft to Rentokil Init ial’s server and virtualizat ion infrastructure. Virtualizat ion is current ly a huge trend and Rentokil

Success Story: Rentokil Initial

Corporate Profile: Rentokil Initial is one of the largest business services companies in the world, operating in the major economies of Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Africa.

Challenge: Due to its strong growth, partially through a large number of acquisitions, Rentokil Initial required better control over software assets to reduce license compliance risk and manage expenditures.

Solution: Rentokil Initial selected FlexNet Manager for Microsoft which allowed it to implement a mature software asset management process and optimize license management for key vendors such as Microsoft.

Benefits: FlexNet Manager for Microsoft® enabled Rentokil Initial to discover that it was over-licensed by more than $1 million in just its UK offices.

“We now have the ability to manage all of our

software assets, which is crit ical for the good

management of our enterprise from a strategic

point of view.”

Martyn HoweDirector of IT Services

Rentokil Init ial

Flexera Software LLC1000 East Woodfield Road, Suite 400Schaumburg, IL 60173 USA

Schaumburg (Global Headquarters):+1 800-809-5659

United Kingdom (Europe, Middle East Headquarters):+44 870-871-1111+44 870-873-6300

Japan (Asia, Pacific Headquarters):+81 3-4360-8291

For more office locat ions visit:www.flexerasoftware.com

Copyright © 2011 Flexera Software LLC. All other brand and product names ment ioned herein may be the trademarks and registered trademarks of their respect ive owners. FMS_SS_Rentokil_Oct11

Init ial is very aware of the licensing issues it can create. The virtualizat ion of mid-range servers in the data center allows businesses to run with fewer physical servers, however, virtualizat ion has increased complexity in the area of software licensing. The company also plans to review the use of its web-based services such as its CRM applicat ion.

Howe concluded, “Now that an effect ive SAM policy is in place, the risk of noncompliance has been reduced – the process is smoother and decisions are easier to make. Report ing through FlexNet Manager for Microsoft allows for definit ive information, with no guesswork. We now have the ability to manage all of our software assets, which is crit ical for the good management of our enterprise from a strategic point of view.”

About Flexera SoftwareFlexera Software is the leading provider of strategic solut ions for Applicat ion Usage Management; solut ions delivering cont inuous compliance, optimized usage and maximized value to applicat ion producers and their customers. Flexera Software is trusted by more than 80,000 customers that depend on our comprehensive solut ions- from installat ion and licensing, ent it lement and compliance management to applicat ion readiness and enterprise license optimization - to strategically manage applicat ion usage and achieve breakthrough results realized only through the systems-level approach we provide. For more information, please go to: www.flexerasoftware.com

For more information on FlexNet Manager Suite please visit: http://www.flexerasoftware.com/products/enterprise-license-optimization.htm