Finding a better way
Within every organization, employees want fast and easy access to the applications they need to do their jobs. Putting in a request and waiting days or even hours before it is approved and IT get software installed is frustrating, not to mention the impact on productivity. For IT, deploying serialized licenses to users who are approved for different combinations of software packages, and then managing those licenses across hundreds or thousands of users and computers, is typically time consuming and difficult.
News Corp Australia, one of Australia’s largest media brands and part of the global News Corp media and information company, is a long-time user of Adobe creative software. When the global company began to transition to Adobe Creative Cloud for enterprise, News Corp Australia started thinking about a better way to manage deployment to its 2,000 users.
“Serial numbers are being phased out and Adobe Creative Cloud for enterprise offered wholesale changes in how we’re transitioning to better manage our Adobe software,” says Steven Bell, Discipline Lead Desktop at News Corp Australia. “We wanted to help ensure what we’re doing is uniform and in step with other organizations.”
Back-end setup for success
News Corp Australia is introducing the deployment of all Adobe applications throughout the organization via ServiceNow catalogs feeding through to automated deployment workflows. Previously, users would select individual applications or packages that included Adobe design, web, or video apps. These apps were still deployed with serial numbers and required IT to keep track of users, licenses, and versions, as well as manage licenses when employees’ needs changed or people left the organization.
With Creative Cloud for enterprise, News Corp Australia has designed a customized integration that provides entitlement once people sign in with their corporate credentials. To accommodate users with varying needs, the company set up different core groups. Users will be able to request access to Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Acrobat DC only, or they can request the Adobe Design, Adobe Digital, or the Self-Managed Desktop App package.
The automated end-to-end deployment is initiated via the ServiceNow application catalog available to end users and integrated with Active Directory. Users are authenticated when they log in with their corporate credentials and can select the package they need from the catalog. Following manager approval, employees will be placed into the appropriate group within Active Directory. The system syncs to a schedule and deploys and installs software for new members or removes access for people no longer in the Active Directory.
