![]() These experts not only will assist your company in becoming compliant, they also can ensure that you are using the most cost effective software licenses for your business needs. That’s why many companies are hiring licensing experts to assist them. Gathering and interpreting the license and usage situation is a daunting task since the rules governing software licensing are very complex and always evolving. Knowing exactly what your company has licensed and how the software is used may well save a substantial amount of money during your next true-up or license renewal. Maybe because you have fewer employees, a reduction in business, changes in technology, decommissioned equipment, or otherwise. ![]() It is not uncommon to discover that you have paid (or are paying) for more licenses than needed. If you cannot demonstrate that everything has been properly licensed and purchased, you will be out of compliance and subject to additional purchase and/or penalties.Īccurately managing software can benefit your company in more ways than just being able to timely respond to an audit request. Once you have an accurate inventory of applicable software, devices, and users you’ll need to match the proof of purchase with each installation or instance of the software. Most inventory tools for instance don’t account for CALs, nor do they adequately analyze virtual scenarios. Auditors know this, so they certainly will focus their attention on such areas.Ī number of Software Asset Management (SAM) tools may help to partially automate the inventory process but manual research and documentation will be required as well. A common violation is that virtual servers (primarily SQL) are being accessed remotely. Many users will use corporate assets on personally owned devices such home PCs, tablets, and smartphones. If you perform an inventory of your installed and accessed software, do not forget that employees work remotely! When the software resides on a server you must ensure that every user or device accessing the product is licensed with appropriate user or device Client Access Licenses (CALs). The auditee must provide proof of purchase for every copy of the software installed or accessed via invoices and receipts, Certificates of Authenticity (COAs), product keys, VL agreements, and any applicable purchase records. ![]() ![]() This can be difficult in large organizations where software and hardware are available through multiple sources. The most valuable preparation is being well organized and having a complete and accurate administration. ![]()
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