SHI delivers scalable IT strategy that enhances visibility and controls risk

To support growth and gain control over a sprawling IT environment, this manufacturer turned to SHI’s SOS expertise.

Challenge:

One of the largest steel producers and metals recyclers in the United States had grown frustrated with Software Asset Management engagements that failed to deliver on their promise. Previous tools and service providers left the organization unable to gain the clarity and strategic direction needed to manage a complex, multi-publisher software estate spanning both on-premises and cloud environments. In 2021, they turned to SHI for a one-time Oracle license analysis. The results exceeded expectations and opened the door to something more meaningful.

What the customer needed was not another point-in-time audit. They required continuous visibility into enterprise software compliance risk and potential overspend across multiple strategic publishers, along with defensible data to support remediation planning, audit readiness, and long-term cost control, all without disrupting production environments. The goal was a trusted partner who could demonstrate clear, measurable value and transform how the organization managed its software investments.

Solution:

Beginning in June 2022, SHI launched a comprehensive ITAM Managed Service that has continued to evolve alongside the customer's needs. The service initially covered major publishers including Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft, and VMware, then expanded to include Oracle in December 2024 through SHI's proprietary and Oracle-verified SODA (SHI Oracle Discovery Application) platform. The foundation of the engagement was the continuous collection, verification, and analysis of software inventory data across both on-premises and cloud-based environments, eliminating duplicates, resolving discrepancies, and maintaining an accurate, ongoing view of all installed, used, and accessed software in alignment with each vendor's license metrics. This gave the customer a single, trustworthy source of truth across their entire software landscape.

SHI's role extended well beyond discovery. Our team took ownership of procurement records, entitlements, and usage rights documentation across all publishers in scope, providing the customer with a continuously maintained and authoritative view of their license positions. This gave them a strategic edge during renewals and vendor negotiations, with analysis aligned to Gartner guidance that leadership could stand behind. In December 2024, the service expanded further to include Microsoft License Advisory and SHI's Cloud Matrix platform, enabling SKU-level feature analysis and future-planning scenarios ahead of upcoming renewals.

Sustaining this level of insight required a disciplined governance structure. Formal quarterly reconciliation reports provided a comprehensive view of compliance positions and risk trends across each publisher, while weekly check-ins kept remediation actions on track and ensured that emerging risks were addressed before they became costly problems. Through this ongoing lifecycle management covering software requests, re-harvesting, retirement, and licensing guidance, SHI helped the customer build a repeatable, scalable governance model rather than a reactive one.

Outcome:

As of December 2024, SHI's efforts delivered a return of 942% relative to the cost of the managed service itself, driven by a combination of direct savings and the prevention of significant unbudgeted spend. Across Adobe, $4.43 million in server-based licensing risk was successfully remediated in 2025 out of $5.9 million identified. Autodesk exposure reached as high as $22.4 million in identified server-based risk, with $17.3 million mitigated by November 2025 and ongoing risk stabilized to manageable levels. Microsoft assessments consistently surfaced recurring compliance risk exceeding $600,000 per cycle, while also highlighting potential E3 and E3+F3 overspend of up to $2.08 million – intelligence that enabled informed decisions around license mix and optimization strategy. Oracle analysis identified $5.61 million in Fusion Middleware risk and $1.29 million in Java licensing exposure, significantly improving audit readiness. VMware work identified combined licensing risk exceeding $2.8 million and supported negotiations that produced $717,000 in hard savings.

Beyond the numbers, SHI helped the customer fundamentally change how they approach software governance. The organization can now proactively reduce audit exposure, make data-driven licensing decisions, and demonstrate measurable risk reduction over time.