Government Technology - Centennial Software

Centennial Software

Navigating the licensing quagmire - Matt Fisher, VP at Centennial Software, sets out five simple steps to taking charge of software ownership

Every year the software industry loses billions of dollars in revenue through the illegal use of pirated software or, more likely, to companies not paying for all the copies of an application being used. In the majority of cases, this over-use of software is because the companies in question simply do not know the extent of their software estate. It seems that, despite some high-profile cases, software licensing is still a corporate governance blind spot for many UK firms.

According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), 27 per cent of all software in use by British companies is illegal. But in the majority of cases, this is not due to any deliberate law-breaking on the part of UK organisations. The fact is that tracking hundreds of applications on thousands of computers is not easy using traditional manual audit methods. What’s more, even when an audit is achieved, this still needs to be married to the company’s various licensing agreements with different vendors.

It is the perceived difficulty of auditing the network, plus the additional burden of license reconciliation, that leads many organisations to bury their heads in the sand and hope the software police do not come knocking.

However, with larger vendors such as Microsoft, Adobe, CA, Autodesk and others all looking to recoup lost revenues through a variety of self-start and forced audit programmes, this strategy is a dangerous one that may cost an organisation millions in punitive fines and truing-up costs.

Whether vendors and watchdogs adopt the olive-branch approach preferred by the likes of Microsoft, or play on the fear of a software audit ‘raid’, it is important to note the real benefits on offer for companies that get a head-start by proactively auditing their software use.

These advantages range from the intangible – such as the ability to conduct an audit in your own time and minimising the disruption to workforce productivity – to the very real – such as the ability to reduce costs by only paying for software actually in use, removing the reliance on a vendor’s records.

It’s also important to realise that managing software is not a one-time or periodic project – it is an ongoing process of continually monitoring the software on the network and how it is being used. As such, effective Software Asset Management starts with the following key steps:

Carry out a complete audit of the software installed across the network. Use a software discovery tool to list all software installed on all computers

Track the usage levels of installed applications to ensure that the software installed is actually still being used

Determine the extent of valid licences – this provides a list to compare against the actual software assets installed

Highlight old applications no longer used and remove copies to avoid paying for licences that are not in use

Proactively contact software vendors to ‘true-up’ under-licensing and renegotiate support contracts where there is over-licensing

Carrying out the process of auditing software installs and usage manually simply is not an option; it will take forever and will certainly give inaccurate results. Instead, by selecting the right tools, an organisation can automatically find and track all software on the network, continually updating usage information and alerting administrators to new installs, upgrades and uninstalls.

Matching licensing to the software audit report is not so easy, however. This is where a professional Software Asset Management (SAM) expert, who understands the nuances between different vendors’ licensing schemes, comes into their own. Not only can they provide clear guidance on over and under-licensing, these consultants can save the customer huge sums of money by advising which licensing schemes will be most advantageous in the future.

By working with a dynamic software discovery tool and SAM professional, steps 1 to 4 are much more easily achieved, and have minimal impact on the wider organisation. This should ideally result in the creation of an ‘Actual Licensing Position’ (ALP), which can be used in stage 5 to satisfy any vendor that the customer is on top of software usage and that the report is suitably accurate as the basis for any licensing discussions.

Although failing to keep track of software usage might not sound serious, legally it is a form of corporate theft. By adopting SAM tools and processes now, firms can take charge of their own situation, without the need for third party auditors.

With recent announcements from software vendors, watchdogs and even the Government, the clock is definitely ticking for firms that continue to ignore their software usage. Taking a proactive management approach can not only save companies money spent on applications that are not being used, but will also ensure that they remain one step ahead of the software police. This puts the user in charge, avoiding unexpected and extremely costly fines, and guarantees a strong negotiating position at licence renewal.

About Centennial Software
Centennial Software www.centennial-software.com is a leading developer of IT asset discovery and security management solutions with nearly five million licenses sold to blue-chip organizations around the world. Available through a global network of resellers and market-leading OEM vendors, Centennial Software’s solutions are designed to help organizations better manage their IT infrastructure, maintain compliance and reduce operational risks. The company operates offices in the UK, USA, Germany and Australia.