Efficient software license management is a key responsibility for an enterprise. With the rise of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications and the increasing cost of user licenses, manually tracking licenses is no longer efficient. Maintaining up-to-date data is also challenging, leading to compliance and audit issues with increased operational overhead and costs. To address these challenges, we’re introducing the Custom License Management Tile in Oracle Identity Manager 12c, a robust feature built using the Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF).

This custom add-on offers centralized control, automated workflows, and real-time tracking to streamline license management across SaaS and on-premises applications.

Why License Management Matters for Your Business

Software licenses aren’t just an operational necessity—they’re a strategic investment. However, without proper management, organizations can face spiraling costs, compliance risks, and inefficiencies that hinder growth. Oracle Identity Manager’s Custom License Management Tile addresses these challenges by providing a robust and comprehensive solution that delivers measurable value.

Effective license management benefits your organization in the following ways:

  • Cost optimization: Avoid overprovisioning, reduce underutilized licenses, and allocate resources precisely where they’re required. Achieve significant cost savings while optimizing IT budgets.
  • Compliance and audit readiness: Stay ahead of regulatory requirements by ensuring that software usage aligns with contractual and organizational policies. Maintain a clear audit trail to reduce penalties and risks during compliance checks.
  • Centralized monitoring: Gain complete visibility into license consumption across all SaaS and on-premises applications. Unified insights eliminate silos and improve accountability.
  • Automation: Replace cumbersome manual processes with intelligent, automated workflows for license provisioning, deprovisioning, and tracking. Free up your IT team for more strategic initiatives.
  • Strategic planning: Use real-time data to forecast future license requirements, enabling proactive budgeting and resource allocation. Anticipate growth needs and align with business goals seamlessly.
  • Enhanced scalability: As your organization grows, manage licenses effortlessly across new applications, departments, and geographies without disruption.
  • Risk mitigation and reliability: Avoid costly noncompliance fines and security risks by ensuring accurate and controlled access to software. A robust solution also minimizes human errors, improving reliability.

By utilizing Oracle Identity Manager’s advanced license management capabilities, organizations not only optimize expenditure but also gain a strategic edge in managing their software assets efficiently.

ADF: The Technical Foundation of the Custom License Management Tile

The Custom License Management Tile in Oracle Identity Manager 12c uses the Oracle ADF to provide a robust and user-centric license management solution. The architecture and functionality contain the following key aspects:

Dynamic user interface

  • Developed using ADF Faces, the UI offers features like filtering, pagination, and partial page rendering.
  • Helps ensure effortless user experience during license search, modification, and confirmation processes.

Seamless navigation

  • The ADF bounded task flows manage transitions between critical operations, such as navigating from home to Search License or Modify License and Modify Confirm back to home.
  • The task flow consists of the following activities:
    • license: The central starting point, representing the home page of the tile.
    • searchLicense: Handles license search operations.
    • modifyLicense: Allows editing of license details.
    • modifyConfirm: Provides a confirmation step before finalizing changes.
  • Defined navigation cases, such as HomeToSearch, SearchToHome, HomeToModify, ModifyToHome, ModifyToConfirm, ConfirmToModify, and ConfirmToHome, help ensure a logical flow between steps, while preserving user input and state.
  • Task flows help ensure stateful session management, making workflows reusable and modular while maintaining the application’s context.
Example task flow.
Figure 1: Seamless task flows built with Oracle ADF.

Robust integration

  • Integrated with Oracle Identity Manager (OIM) for automation, the solution also connects with databases to facilitate real-time updates and centralized monitoring of license data.

Scalable architecture

  • Designed using the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, ADF separates concerns, enhancing scalability and maintainability.
  • This architecture provides the flexibility to meet complex enterprise requirements while helping ensure optimal performance.

By using the powerful features of ADF, the custom license management tile combines intuitive user interfaces, efficient navigation, and robust backend integration to deliver a seamless license management experience. This solution can help enhance productivity and aligns with the scalability demands of modern enterprises.

Key Features

Search Licenses Quickly and Efficiently

The search license feature allows administrators to quickly access a centralized view of license usage across multiple dimensions. With a clean, intuitive interface, it streamlines searches for detailed auditing and management with the following capabilities:

  • Filter by key parameters: Use the company, department, and application filters to narrow down the search results, enabling a focused view of relevant license data.
  • Detailed license consumption view: View consumption details, such as company consumed licenses, company license limits, department consumed licenses, and department license limits, for quick compliance checks.
  • User details: Access a detailed breakdown of users assigned to specific licenses, allowing administrators to perform granular audits and ensure compliance across departments.

This feature helps enhance efficiency and precision in tracking and managing license usage.

Search license form in OIM.
Figure 2: Centralized dashboard in OIM to search for licenses.

Modify Licenses with Ease

The modify license feature allows administrators to update license limits seamlessly and in real time, helping ensure that usage remains within organizational requirements with the following benefits and capabilities:

  • Adjust at multiple levels: Modify license limits for both company and department levels, offering flexible control over license distribution.
  • Built-in validation: The system supports data integrity by validating inputs. Invalid or nonnumeric values trigger error messages, while exceeding thresholds prompt warnings, such as “The total company limit exceeds the organization limit.”
  • Real-time updates: Any changes made are instantly reflected across the system, helping ensure that the adjustments are immediately available for audit and compliance checks.

This feature encourages efficient license management, while maintaining data accuracy and consistency across the platform.

Modify license form.
Figure 3: Modify licenses at company and department levels.

Role-Based Access for Better Control

Role-based access helps ensure secure and efficient operations for the following positions:

  • System admins: Manage all licenses at company and department levels.
  • Company admins: Manage only department-level licenses within their company, ensuring hierarchical control.
  • Delegated administration: Clearly define who can modify limits and who can view them.

Track Changes in Real Time

Dynamic tracking helps ensure up-to-date license data with the following features:

  • Automatic updates: License counts adjust automatically when accounts are provisioned, revoked, or disabled in OIM, with a custom adapter attached to each application to manage these changes effectively.
  • Real-time insights: Monitor company and department-level consumption with precision.

For example, if the consumed license count starts at 22 for a company and 17 for a department, provisioning a new account update these counts to 23 and 18.

Automated Workflows for License Requests

The license-driven request workflow simplifies provisioning with intelligent automation with the following features:

  • Standard flow: Requests are approved and processed if licenses are available.
  • Auto rejection: If limits are reached, requests are rejected automatically, with users notified by email, including the request ID and reason for rejection.
  • Service-oriented architecture (SOA) workflow integration: Helps ensure seamless approval handling and rejection notifications.
Request details for a license.
Figure 4: Simplified workflows for license requests.

 

Email to notify of an automatic rejection.
Figure 5: Automated request feedback.

 

Get Started Today

Experience how ADF and Oracle Identity Manager 12c can transform license management. To learn more or explore other features, visit the Oracle Identity Management documentation or contact your Oracle representative. Simplify, streamline, and stay compliant with the Custom License Management Tile!