ITAM Roundup: 5/4/25

roundup May 4, 2025

📰 News

New feature: AI purchase data and entitlement ingestion

Flexera has introduced a new AI-powered entitlement ingestion feature in Flexera One ITAM that automatically scans and uploads purchase data from various document formats, drastically reducing the time and errors associated with manual entry. Unlike many rushed AI implementations, Flexera’s approach is problem-focused, targeting the time-consuming process of purchase order ingestion in Software Asset Management (SAM). This feature allows users to upload documents like invoices and purchase orders, extract line-item details—including SKUs and pricing—and generate purchase order records automatically, significantly improving data accuracy and operational efficiency.

Microsoft Q3 FY25 earnings: What Enterprises Need to Know

Microsoft’s Q3 FY25 earnings exceeded expectations with \$70.1 billion in revenue, driven largely by a 20% increase in Microsoft Cloud revenue and a 33% rise in Azure and other cloud services, fueled heavily by AI demand. The company is accelerating datacenter and AI infrastructure investments, projecting continued growth despite upcoming capacity constraints, while Microsoft 365 now boasts 430 million commercial seats and Copilot usage has tripled year-over-year. A major internal sales reorganization, effective July 1, will consolidate Microsoft’s sales structure into three core areas to enhance AI alignment and technical expertise across teams.

W18 SAM & ITAM Jobs | #ITAMjobs

This week's SAM & ITAM job listings include roles at major firms like ServiceNow, Deloitte, Dropbox, and Novartis, spanning locations across the US, UK, Europe, and beyond. Salaries vary widely, with positions such as Technology Asset Manager in New York offering up to \$175,000 USD and senior analyst roles in Canada reaching \$174,800 CAD. Many listings, particularly in Europe and South America, do not disclose salary information but cover a range of IT asset, software license, and vendor management responsibilities.

Redis 'returns' to open source with AGPL license

Redis has added the AGPL license for Redis 8, marking a return to an OSI-approved open source model after criticism of its prior SSPL licensing, though some still view AGPL as too restrictive. CEO Rowan Trollope acknowledged that SSPL was not widely accepted and emphasized AGPL’s requirement for service providers to open source their code or license it commercially. While the move includes new features like vector sets and the return of Redis creator Salvatore Sanfilippo, critics argue that the restrictive licensing continues to push some users toward alternatives like the Linux Foundation-backed Valkey fork.

Economic uncertainty roils tech labor market as IT unemployment spikes

Tech employment took a hit in April 2025, with 214,000 IT positions lost and industry unemployment rising to 3.5%, even as overall U.S. unemployment declined slightly. Economic uncertainty, tariffs, and reduced consumer demand have led to cautious hiring and spending, particularly affecting infrastructure and consulting services. Despite the downturn, demand for AI roles remains strong, with over 55,000 new postings in April — a 184% increase year-over-year.

Microsoft expands European footprint amid global trade tensions

Microsoft plans to expand its European data center capacity by 40%, aiming to more than double its regional footprint between 2023 and 2027 across 16 countries, amid rising U.S.-EU trade tensions. The move addresses growing enterprise demand for digital sovereignty and risk mitigation in an uncertain geopolitical climate. Microsoft reaffirmed its commitment to local compliance and contractual protection, joining other hyperscalers like AWS and Oracle in ramping up sovereign cloud investments.

📖 Tips

How to Prepare for an Oracle License Audit in 2025

Oracle license audits are becoming more frequent and financially risky in 2025, especially due to cloud migrations, virtualization changes, and evolving infrastructure. Common audit triggers include unauthorized feature use, VM movement, Java SE deployments without subscriptions, and missing documentation. To prepare, organizations should conduct self-assessments, implement real-time monitoring, maintain thorough documentation, and consider expert reviews or tools like Opscompass to proactively mitigate audit risks.

Managing the IBM License Lifecycle: A CIO Advisory Guide

IBM’s complex software licensing models—ranging from PVU and RVU to VPC for containerized environments—require CIOs to carefully manage the full license lifecycle, including acquisition, deployment, optimization, and retirement, to maintain compliance and control costs. Ensuring compliance involves using IBM’s mandated tools like ILMT for sub-capacity tracking, maintaining accurate inventories, and aligning deployments with entitlements across hybrid IT environments.

Managing the IBM License Lifecycle: A CIO Advisory Guide

Managing the IBM License Lifecycle: Key challenges and actionable steps for CIOs and IT asset managers in acquiring, deploying, and optimizing IBM software assets.

Redress Compliance - Just another WordPress siteFredrik Filipsson

How businesses can take advantage of the AI agent boom

Businesses can benefit from the AI agent boom by deploying specialized agents tailored to their specific industry needs, rather than relying on generic, inflexible solutions. Trust and ethical implementation are crucial, especially in sensitive sectors like healthcare and finance, requiring transparent practices and regular audits. AI agents are best used as assistants that support human workers by handling routine tasks, with organizations urged to take a slow, methodical approach to integration for long-term success.

🐛Bugs & Exploits

Windows RDP lets you log in using revoked passwords. Microsoft is OK with that.

Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) allows users to log in with revoked passwords due to a design choice by Microsoft, which caches credentials locally to ensure access even if the device is offline. Security researchers argue this behavior creates a persistent backdoor, as old passwords can continue to grant RDP access indefinitely, bypassing password changes, MFA, and cloud policies. Despite criticism and prior reports, Microsoft has no plans to change the system, stating it’s not a security vulnerability and only updated documentation to clarify the behavior.