Working in the software industry can mean navigating a veritable minefield of licensed materials and products. Unexpected software audits come with the territory and can result in substantial financial losses. An audit is designed to discover companies that are working with unlicensed materials. This isn’t always a result of piracy, but sometimes happens when licenses are incomplete or simply outdated.
Auditors don’t care about the innocent nature of these issues. They are looking for the most effective way to make money by incentivizing their staff to find and expose mistakes with licensing. They pay others to report these issues and monetize misfortune. Business is about generating a profit, and this is disrupted when software audits result in heavy fines or a delay in scheduled business activities.
Defending Your Company Against a Software Audit
The best defense is both pre-emptive and professional. When faced with a software audit, seeking outside help from experts can provide the following advantages:
Increase Preparedness: Being able to immediately respond to software license inquiry letters in a way that is both succinct and intelligent inspires trust and prevents costly delays. Working with professionals can also take the mystery out of the audit process and can ready internal entities for any questions or future proceedings.
Oversee License Compliance: Not all companies understand the necessary steps to ensure ongoing software license compliance. Working with a tech savvy outside party can help to keep all licenses up to date and identify problem areas before auditors do.
Discourage Future Audits: Attaining and sustaining license compliance can take a company off the software audit radar for upcoming actions. Once a company is identified as being both prepared and knowledgeable about software licensure, they will not be targeted as fervently in the future.
Understanding the Risks
Most companies using IBM software run a 30% risk of being targeted for a random audit at least once a year. That statistic nearly guarantees a future software audit for every active company using these popular products. This alone cements the need for an outside IT consultation in order to minimize the risk.
This is where it benefits to call the professionals at GlassHouse Systems for your software audit needs. Our experts have a wide range of experience with various software vendors and can help to prepare your company for any future inspections of your software licensing.
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