Has a software manufacturer ever asked you to disclose your licensing arrangements?
An increasing number of companies are subjected to software or license audits by software manufacturers. An audit is the inspection of a software company, in which a review is conducted of whether you use your licenses to an appropriate extent.
These audits are often not identified as such in advance. They begin as a harmless discussion between one of your IT administrators and a representative of the software manufacturer, who subsequently turns out to be an auditor
What can a software audit ultimately mean?
Such an inspection serves to ensure appropriate licence usage. If you are not properly prepared or have never dealt with such audits, such a procedure can often end up being expensive.
One possible outcome could be that your company is under-licensed. This means that you use more licences than you have bought. The opposite may also turn out to be true, i.e. your company is over-licensed. This would mean you hold licences that you don’t use. Both scenarios can cost you a lot of money. High costs may be incurred in the event of under-licensing – on the one hand for retrospective licensing, and on the other retrospectively for support during the period of misuse. Over-licensing can also have a negative impact on your budget, as you will incur opportunity costs due to having too many dormant licences. You may also have paid for additional support that you have never used throughout this period.
How can I make sure that nothing like this ever happens?
The most important thing is to make sure your IT department is properly prepared. Feel free to contact us directly with your concerns at any time. Simply fill out the form below and we will contact you.
The Software ReUse Team will be happy to help you make sure your company is correctly licensed.
