Determination and reconciliation of software used by a managed network

Abstract

A database may contain representations of: (i) software packages managed by a software management tool, including publishers, titles, and categories associated with each, and (ii) a plurality of software activities, including descriptions and amounts associated with each. A server device may be configured to obtain classifications of the software activities that predict the publishers, titles, and categories of the software activities from the descriptions. The server device may further compare the software packages to the classifications in order to identify: (i) unmanaged software packages, and (ii) amounts associated with the software packages. The server device may also transmit a representation of a graphical user interface that depicts first and second panes, the first pane listing the publishers with respective total publisher amounts and whether any of the unmanaged software packages are attributable to each of the publishers, and the second pane including a chart depicting the amounts incurred over time.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory, accessible by the processor, the memory storing instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 receiving one or more activity records associated with a managed network; 
 determining, via a machine learning model, that the one or more activity records are associated with one or more software packages; 
 determining, via the machine learning model, respective characteristics of the one or more software packages based on the one or more activity records, wherein the respective characteristics comprise respective publishers associated with the one or more software packages; 
 determining that the one or more software packages are not currently managed by a software management tool associated with the managed network based on the respective characteristics of the one or more software packages; and 
 transmitting, to a display device, a representation of a graphical user interface, wherein the graphical user interface comprises a window that includes a listing of the respective publishers associated with the one or more software packages. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more activity records comprise one or more indications of financial transactions associated with the one or more software packages. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the respective characteristics comprise the respective publishers and respective titles associated with the one or more software packages. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the operations comprise:
 receiving, via the graphical user interface, user input indicative of a selection of a particular publisher of the respective publishers; and   transmitting, to the display device, a representation of an updated graphical user interface, wherein the updated graphical user interface comprises the window including a listing of the respective titles of the one or more software packages associated with the particular publisher.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the respective characteristics comprise one or more additional devices in which the one or more software packages are installed. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise storing, in a database, one or more configuration items associated with the one or more software packages. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the machine learning model is trained based on a data set associated with one or more additional activity records associated with the managed network. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the window includes the listing of the respective publishers associated with the one or more software packages and one or more additional publishers associated with one or more additional software packages managed by the software management tool. 
     
     
         9 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, by a server device, one or more activity records associated with a managed network;   determining, by the server device via a machine learning model, that the one or more activity records are associated with one or more software packages;   determining, by the server device via the machine learning model, respective characteristics of the one or more software packages based on the one or more activity records, wherein the respective characteristics comprise respective publishers associated with the one or more software packages;   determining, by the server device, that the one or more software packages are not currently managed by a software management tool associated with the managed network based on the respective characteristics of the one or more software packages; and   transmitting, by the server device to a display device, a representation of a graphical user interface, wherein the graphical user interface comprises a window that includes a listing of the respective publishers associated with the one or more software packages and one or more additional publishers associated with one or more additional software packages managed by the software management tool.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more activity records comprise one or more indications of financial transactions associated with the one or more software packages. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , comprising:
 receiving, by the server device via the graphical user interface, user input indicative of a selection of a particular publisher of the respective publishers; and   transmitting, by the server device to the display device, a representation of an updated graphical user interface, wherein the updated graphical user interface comprises the window including a listing of the respective titles of the one or more software packages associated with the particular publisher.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the respective characteristics comprise one or more additional devices in which the one or more software packages are installed. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , comprising storing, by the server device in a database, one or more configuration items associated with the one or more software packages. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the machine learning model is trained based on a data set associated with one or more additional activity records associated with the managed network. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory, computer-readable medium, comprising instructions that when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 receiving one or more activity records associated with a managed network;   determining, via a machine learning model, that the one or more activity records are associated with one or more software packages;   determining, via the machine learning model, respective characteristics of the one or more software packages based on the one or more activity records, wherein the respective characteristics comprise respective publishers associated with the one or more software packages and one or more devices in which the one or more software packages are installed;   determining that the one or more software packages are not currently managed by a software management tool associated with the managed network based on the respective characteristics of the one or more software packages; and   transmitting, to a display device, a representation of a graphical user interface, wherein the graphical user interface comprises a window that includes a listing of the respective publishers associated with the one or more software packages.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more activity records comprise one or more indications of financial transactions associated with the one or more software packages. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the respective characteristics comprise the respective publishers and respective titles associated with the one or more software packages. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the operations comprise:
 receiving, via the graphical user interface, user input indicative of a selection of a particular publisher of the respective publishers; and   transmitting, to the display device, a representation of an updated graphical user interface, wherein the updated graphical user interface comprises the window including a listing of the respective titles of the one or more software packages associated with the particular publisher.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the operations comprise storing, in a database, one or more configuration items associated with the one or more software packages. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the machine learning model is trained based on a data set associated with one or more additional activity records associated with the managed network.