Use software metering in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager to monitor and collect software usage data from Configuration Manager clients.
To collect this usage data, configure software metering rules or use the Configuration Manager inventory to generate these rules automatically. Client computers evaluate these rules and collect metering data to send to the site. The Configuration Manager client continues to collect usage data when there is no connection to the Configuration Manager site and sends this information when the connection is re-established.
After you collect usage data from Configuration Manager clients, you can view the data in different ways, which includes using collections, queries, and reporting. This data, combined with data from software inventory, can help your organization to determine the following:
- How many copies of a particular software
program have been deployed to the computers in your organization.
Among those computers, you can determine how many users actually
run the program.
- How many licenses of a particular software
program you have to purchase when you renew your license agreement
with the software vendor.
- Whether users are still running a particular
software program. If the program is not being used, you might
retire the program.
- Which times of the day a software program is
most frequently used.
For an example scenario that shows how you might use software metering in your environment, see Example Scenario for Software Metering in Configuration Manager.
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