Software Asset Management > Audit Response

Software licenses are one of the necessary expenses in today's business world; however, with the dramatic expansion of computer usage and deployment of business software, few companies have been able to keep up administratively and implement the necessary controls to adequately monitor these transactions. You need to be aware that if your licenses have become out of compliance, you may receive a request for a software licensing audit.

If you’ve ever been tapped by a compliance agency or software publisher to perform such an audit, you know how much anxiety it can cause and what a disruption it can be to your daily business.

You are probably familiar with the copyright infringement fees software publishers can charge for lack of compliance with licensing agreements. While we often hear of those fees being waived, there is another significant "fee" that is not waived and is seldom mentioned… the fee of limited time. When these audits are requested, there is generally a small window of time specified to complete these assessments, e.g., within one week or 10-business days. Unfortunately, these deadlines not only impose hidden costs by reducing productivity while you refocus your resources on the demands of the audit, they also restrict the time necessary to properly assess your software needs and negotiate favorable discounts with software vendors.

Cynthia Farren Consulting is experienced working with software publishers to negotiate more favorable time constraints to ensure that your organization has sufficient time to complete the audit and become appropriately licensed. We can also return you to compliance quickly and quietly, keeping the whole process in-house, thus avoiding any unwanted publicity.

If you have been contacted and asked to perform a self-audit, contact us today so we can discuss ways we can help minimize the disruption to your business and not only return you to compliance, but work directly with the software publishers to ensure that you have the most advantageous licensing agreements possible.

If you have not yet been contacted but are simply "concerned" about your compliance, take the following quiz. If you are still concerned after taking the quiz, contact us so we can get your software licensing back in compliance before a request for audit is made.