Knowledge Base

Software use is made legally permissible under the terms and conditions of the bought licence(s). To ensure compliance with the legal and contractual licence terms and conditions, software must be recorded and monitored, regardless of the cost of the purchase or whether it was acquired with operational or capital funds. Whether or not a software product is utilised, if it is deployed to a device, a licence is needed for that programme; if it is deployed, a licence is needed

The Software Licence Management
Framework

The implementation of an effective software licence framework will offer agencies a disciplined strategy for regulating and managing risks while keeping this business-critical asset operational. It is important to understand that this is a continuous process, not a one-time event. To be effective, a framework must have equal contributions from people, software, and procedures. If one of these elements is missing, the framework will fail to provide any real benefit to the agency.

People

People are the resources required to complete the necessary tasks to implement a framework and to update and maintain it on an ongoing basis. It also requires the commitment of employees within an agency to follow the procedures that have been developed as part of the agency framework.

Software

Software is an integral part of the framework. It provides a mechanism to deploy software automatically and acts as a repository for licensing information, audits and protects the agency’s environment and provides functionality to users.

Processes

Processes define the instructions employees are to follow within the framework. If there are no formal processes in place, or if the people or software don’t support the procedures, then the framework will soon fail

Why Organizations should maintain Software
Licenses ?

Software licensing safeguards both the user’s intellectual property and that of the software company.

Savings may be achieved when:

  1. The correct licence is purchased.
  2. Licences are purchased under volume licensing agreements.
  3. Licences are only purchased when needed
  4. Maintenance is purchased within time
  5. Licences may be upgraded, rather than purchasing new licences
  6. Unutilised licences can be tracked, pooled and transferred to other assets as required

Employees will work more efficiently as time will not be wasted:

  1. Looking for media
  2. Supporting untested software
  3. Searching for licences

Assist in the compilation of an accurate budget, as:

  1. All maintenance renewal dates will have been captured.
  2. Upgrades can be accurately calculated.
  3. User base licence growth can be accurately calculated.
  4. Details of licence ownership numbers is accurate.

Improves the organisations ability to manage their software to
determine what:

  1. Software is deployed
  2. Software is in use
  3. Hardware not in use

Why Organizations should maintain Software
Licenses ?

Software licensing safeguards both the user’s intellectual property and that of the software company.

1. It is illegal to use unlicensed software.

Using unlicensed software puts you in danger, both legally and financially. Software piracy is the use of unlicensed software. The unauthorised use, duplication, or distribution of copyrighted software is referred to as software piracy.

The copyright holders can sue you in court, and the government can order you to pay damages.

Depending on the seriousness of the violation, they may choose to seek personal liability, which means they may hold you personally liable. Particularly if you are a manager or director who was aware of or promoted the usage of unlicensed software.

Some people believe that they will not be caught using unlicensed software. They are, unfortunately, mistaken.

2. Licensed software provides better cybersecurity protection.

Licensed software reduces the likelihood of cybersecurity incidents.

Did you know that when you buy or install unauthorised software, you have a nearly one-in-three chance of discovering malware?

According to reports, people and organisations who use unlicensed PC software are more likely to be infected with malware than those who do not. Why? Because thieves can embed malware in software and use it to get unauthorised access to your data.

3. Licensed Software Can Help You Save Money

Licensed software can help you save money and work more efficiently.
It is more cost-effective to pay for the licensed software and avoid problems.

Risks of Not Managing Software

The business case should emphasise the consequences of forgoing the implementation of a framework. The size and complexity of an organisation’s software environment will have a significant impact on the risks, which will differ amongst different organisations. The following issues are examples of the types of risks the organisation may be vulnerable to:

Over Licensing

An organisation may become licenced when, for example, a full-packaged product (FPP) is purchased by an employee and installed on their desktop, and the licence is subsequently kept in their filing cabinet and forgotten. When the agency does an audit and discovers that they are under-licensed for the product deployed, the buying department purchases another licence for the application to make up for the observed shortage in licences. This results in increased, unneeded spending.

Under Licensing

An organisation is more likely to be under-licensed if it lacks a framework and sufficient procedures since products might have been used incorrectly in their deployment. If under-licensing is discovered during an external audit, organisations and their CEOs run the risk of paying expensive legal fees, penalties, and damage from the relevant software providers

Increased Expenditure

As organisations lack access to reliable software licensing information to help them make the best possible business decisions, software licensing costs could rise unnecessarily. For instance, if the opportunity exists, updating software licences might be less expensive than buying new licences. If a company does not keep track of its licence records, it will often buy new licences rather than upgrade because it will not be aware of its rights to do so.

Things to consider include:

1. It could be more expensive to buy under a volume licence agreement than to buy one-off licences (FPP) as needed.

2. Which type of licence must be obtained depends on how the product is deployed. There may be several distinct licences available for a single product, and individuals in charge of acquiring software who are unfamiliar with licensing may easily acquire the wrong licence.

3. keeping track of the software’s maintenance expiration dates. New licences must be obtained after the expiration date, and these can be substantially more expensive than upgrade licences that might have been bought under the maintenance agreement.

Security Breaches and Viruses

A weak framework could expose the organisation’s environment to security threats like malware or prevent automatic or proactive patch and update installation.

No technical support or product upgrades

Maintaining software maintenance will lower the risk that vendor technical assistance and/or product upgrades won’t be accessible when needed and ensure that the software buying department is aware of what versions of products are installed so they can support the product delivered. No software vendors will provide support for unlicensed non-standard software deployments on networks.

Software compatibility issues

Software compatibility concerns may arise if employees are allowed to load software that has not been approved for use or tested. Because of this, the agency may be exposed to significant unanticipated financial risk and operational impact. If compatibility issues arise with a mission-critical application, for example, the consequences could be severe.

Therefore, it is advised that organisations create Approved Software Lists to direct the purchase of software.

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