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Lansweeper is a software package used worldwide by IT professionals in organizations of all sizes to manage their entire IT network. Their solution can provide valuable insights through all IT divisions but is mainly used by system administrators.
Below is our interview with Bart Maes, CEO at Lansweeper:
Q: Who are the primary users of Lansweeper and what are some of the key challenges you are helping them solve?
A: There’s a great variety of the challenges Lansweeper can address, from high-level to very specific, but I’ll highlight some of them below.
- Tracking Assets
- Time Management
- Hardware Warranty Management
- Installing Software & Updates
Having an accurate and constantly updated list of active assets in your network can be a real hassle. Using agent-free scanning, Lansweeper automatically discovers your entire IT network, giving you the ability to easily view hard-and software components of Windows, Linux and Mac Computers. Out advanced scanning algorithm also picks up a broad range of network devices such as printers, switches, routers and IP phones. Each asset has its own webpage, which includes an unparalleled amount information. Serial number, the last logged on Windows user and remaining disk space are just some of the items Lansweeper tracks.
On one side, IT professionals strive to be proactive and plan, but they must also respond to the day-to-day challenges posed by the users and the business. Keeping everything running smoothly takes up time. Time that cannot be spend on more fundamental things. Lansweeper allows you to automate day-to-day, yet fundamental, tasks such as keeping an up to date inventory of your entire IT network. Additionally, the ability to remotely spot and fix problems with assets without the need to go on the spot is a huge timesaver.
For assets whose manufacturer is Dell, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Lenovo or Toshiba, Lansweeper retrieves warranty details like purchase and warranty expiration date of the machine, ship date, purchase country and purchased warranty products. Integrating a warranty management into the business process helps efficiently eliminate gaps in the product lifecycle process. Consequently, this leads to an increase in operational efficiency in organizational processes.
If you’re administering or provisioning a larger number of computers, pushing software and updates on every computer can be a time-consuming hassle. Lansweeper allows you to create deployment packages based on certain criteria to make changes to a range of computers.
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Q: What is the story behind Lansweeper, how did you start?
A: Lansweeper started off as one of our founder’s many side projects when he was still active as a system administrator for a healthcare multinational. Because keeping a manual inventory of the entire IT network up-to-date was too time-consuming, he developed Lansweeper. As the tool turned out to be extremely effective, he decided to share Lansweeper online for free.
When by 2008 the free download started to gain popularity all over the world, he decided to add a paywall. The number of downloads kept increasing to such an extent that only a few months later, Lansweeper became his secondary occupation. Today, Lansweeper has over 20,000 customers in more than 130 countries including big names like Nasa, Sony, Comcast & the US Marine Corps.
Q: Could you tell us something about your pricing plans?
A: One big difference where we aim to differentiate ourselves from our competitors is one many customers notice right away: the price tag. Lansweeper has a very competitive pricing scheme, easily ten times more affordable than competing software. Additionally, we offer free 30-day trial keys, so users can test Lansweeper without limitations before deciding to purchase.
To be more specific, we have 4 pricing levels based on the number of assets in your network and the features you’d like to use: Freeware, Standard, Professional and Ultimate. The free version allows unlimited users, but is limited to 100 assets and has some features disabled. The paid plans come at $495 and $995 annually. If users want to track more than 1,000 assets, they’ll need to contact our customer service team to develop a customized pricing plan.
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Q: How would you convince the reader to start using Lansweeper?
A: In essence, Lansweeper provides you the means to achieve complete visibility in your IT infrastructure, helping you gain an in-depth understanding of all your IT resources.
Lansweeper creates a substantial reduction in the measure of time you would ordinarily spend on routine, yet key assignments, such as inventory, software distribution, licensing and updates, which is critical for associations with restricted staff and IT spending plans.
Last but not least: try before you buy. By making full use of the free trial, you’ll be able to see what Lansweeper can do for you.
Q: What are your plans for 2018?
A: After an almost explosive expansion over the last few years, Lansweeper now has all the pieces in place to start moving toward the next chapter.
A larger team and a new structure within our company opens the door to a new, more personalized approach towards customer support. This will enable us to focus the development of new features even more to suit the customers’ needs, all the while keeping at the core the DACC principle: Discover, Analyze, Control, Coordinate, always more, faster and more efficiently. Our users’ feedback is our primary source of information when deciding on the development roadmap.
A new partner program will lay the focus, not just on reselling, but on adding value. Lansweeper is a tool with many applications. It makes no sense for us to waste our time branching out in all these directions when so many others have already staked their claim. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, we will focus on what we do best and work together with others who have done the same to cover all bases.
