Software asset management: better management of your licences

According to a study published by Flexera Software and IDC, 85% of businesses are unknowingly using more software than permitted by their contracts with the publishers. This large figure and the recent news (AFPA and CARREFOUR litigation) underlines the increasing difficulty that these businesses are having with proper software asset management.

Software assets increasingly numerous and difficult to manage

Information systems are now ubiquitous in all business functions and rely on a growing number of market software components. It goes without saying that the volume of use of each asset is rising because of the proliferation of users and media (laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.) Information systems are also increasingly based on packaged solutions.

In addition, managing these assets has become more complex. The use of virtualization technologies is growing, and BYOD is making counting licenses even more complicated.

In a word, the constant evolution of the software publisher market and the diversity and complexity of licensing methods are not making the rules any easier to understand.

Managing software assets to cover risks

Poor software asset management exposes an organization to major risks: legal, operational, and financial.

On the legal side, copyrights laws protect software as an intellectual work (Article L.112-2 of the French intellectual property code, following law no. 94-361 of May 10, 1994), and misuse, whether voluntary or not, is subject to fines of up to 1.5 million euros as well as a block on the misused licenses. Audits by software publishers are becoming more and more frequent (63% of businesses have been audited in the last two years according to the Flexera Software and IDC study) and cover all types of businesses, from SMEs to large groups.

On the operational side, poor software asset management can adversely affect the organization’s operation, either by increasing the information system’s volatility (software not updated with the latest security patches, hardware not fully covered by protection software), or by creating compatibility problems between the licenses and the equipment used to support them: for example, the shutdown of part of the activity because an application no longer works after its migration to a new server, given that the software license is tied to the original server’s physical configuration.

Lastly, on the financial side, the identified major risks may be linked to the risks mentioned above, plus the potential additional costs associated with an overestimation of the number of licenses compared with the actual need.

Centralizing software asset management

As part of launching a software asset optimization initiative, the major challenge is the centralization of purchasing and procurement activities. In the case of an organization divided into several branches or entities, a single entity should collect and manage all requests (procurement). Furthermore, a single purchasing division should manage the negotiations and purchases of software for the entire organization.

Such centralization is a powerful optimization tool to obtain a consolidated view of the requirements; and to benefit from pooling across the entire organization, enhancing negotiating power with software publishers.

Six keys to making your software asset management more professional

The goal of software asset management is to industrialize the management of assets. As such, here are six keys to successfully making it more professional:

 

1. Put in place a methodological framework clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the various parties involved to make their interactions smoother, clarify the terms of use of the software, and make end-users aware of their responsibilities
2. Implement and maintain a single repository of licenses to have a global, up-to-date view of the status of the software assets
3. Regulate all requests through service management to verify their relevance and avoid unnecessary purchases
4. Put the transition between the purchase and the deployment of licenses under control to avoid the use of a license different from the initially indicated need (for example, installation of the license on a server other than the one identified in the order)
5. Analyze the suppliers’ licensing methods to support the purchasing division, verify software compliance, and detect and limit occurrences of misuse of software (for example, by implementing spot checks in anticipation of publishers’ audits)
6. Establish a technology watch to anticipate changes in the market

Appointing your software asset management, a true leader of performance

Creating a software asset manager role allows a software asset management initiative to be put in place more quickly and made more reliable over time. The software asset manager coordinates the many parties involved in the management of software assets.

Depending on the complexity of the organizations, both technical and administrative players may be called on at certain stages in the management of software assets.

• Technical players manage service management (management of business requests), the definition of IT strategies (IT policy and standards), and the deployment and production of inventories.
• Administrative players manage procurement and purchasing as well as the budgetary aspect (management control)
• In addition to these two types of players are the end-users who will use the workstations or servers on which the licenses will be installed.

The license manager’s main role is to synchronize the requests and requirements of the parties involved. Over the long term, putting this role in place will secure the actions, allowing an organization to properly scale its software needs and have visibility to anticipate its future time frames and needs, while controlling the risks of bad surprises in the event of audits.

Therefore, there are many benefits to software asset management, and it is essential to consider it an important optimization tool within organizations. All of the above recommendations lay the foundation for sustainable management of software assets. They allow businesses to restore balance to existing relationships with suppliers, but also confidently try their hand at an innovative but promising market: second-hand software.