Software audits continue to rise, says gartner license. Software license compliance audit fort worth, texas. Software audits by software publishers and their trade groups are on the rise. This latest survey reveals that 65% of respondents reported at least one software vendor audit in the previous 12 months, up from 61% the year before. Vendors and license auditors can derail software asset best practices by using intimidation tactics. Gartner is the worlds leading research and advisory company. The number of audits and lack of a consolidated asset management platform can create challenges for an. Software license audits come in different forms, expert says. Focus on these vendors and conduct selfassessments, before thirdparty audits. Software asset managers must examine the audit trends exposed in our survey and prepare the organization against compliance risk and unbudgeted costs. Many companies are paying substantial fines and suffering negative publicity resulting from license compliance. But if you have the right consultants in your corner, things. Six steps to completing a software audit and ensuring. We equip caes and their teams with insights, advice and tools to improve and transform their functions to effectively deliver assurance.
A 2012 gartner report reveals that the likelihood of going a whole year without receiving at least one. Published on february 16, 2018 february 16, 2018 30 likes 2 comments. Software license management for the modern enterprise. This fascinating kpmg survey reveals the software license. Using compliance analytics data to improve your software. If youre an enterprise, youve surely been audited by a software company likely many times. Software asset managers who can distinguish a true audit from revenuegenerating vendor. Furthermore, the number of license audits being conducted by leading software vendors is increasing. Software license audits how to prepare, how to react. How to make the software license management process less.
Software asset managers must examine the audit trends. Everything you need to know about software audits aberdeen. Software asset managers must tighten license management processes to avoid being forced into a less suitable term license agreement. Flexera named a leader in gartner 2018 magic quadrant for. Software licensing audits are a big challenge for it departments. Gartners new report, software vendor auditing trends. On january 27, 2012, the worlds leading information technology research and advisory company, gartner, released a survey showing that two.
For most organizations, 80% of software spend resides with the top 15 to 20 software vendors. Victoria barber is a research director with gartners it sourcing, procurement and asset management group, specializing in. How high tech plays hardball truing up licenses amounts to billions of dollars in revenue for the major software makers. Adobe stops software licence audits in americas, europe dont pop the champagne. There is no established schedule for departmental procured software license audits. What to watch for and how to respond may 23, 2012 contains interesting food for thought for enterprises. Adobe stops software licence audits in americas, europe. Peoplesoft software license 10 issues worth negotiating. At gartners it financial, procurement and asset management summits in september 2011, we asked 228 attendees about software vendor audits. An established schedule for departmentalprocured software license audits does not exist.
The number of audits by software vendors is increasing. Adobe has audited a higher proportion of its customers than vendors with similar revenue, and seems to have enhanced its audit process recently. Software asset managers who can distinguish a true audit from revenuegenerating vendor activities can minimize cost and risks by properly identifying, classifying and managing software audits. Tips to get ready for or possibly avoid software audits software compliance is a complex and interpretative process that if not done correctly and with forethought can cost organizations millions. There are different kinds of software license audits, some that may be disguised as inventory optimization. Audit software automates the process of preparing and executing audits by. Gartner conducted a survey of software vendor audits and 65 percent of respondents claimed that their organization had experienced a vendor audit in the previous 12 months. Later in the software life cycle, it organizations can use slm tools and capabilities to verify their compliance status with software license agreements and avoid external software audits. Software audits are on the rise so it is important to understand the value of software license optimization. On january 27, 2012, the worlds leading information technology research and advisory company, gartner, released a survey showing that twothirds of all companies have been subject to software auditing during the past 12 months.
Tips to get ready for or possibly avoid software audits. The five vendors mostly likely to audit corporate software licenses are microsoft, adobe, autodesk, oracle, and sap, in that order. A dramatic rise in software vendor compliance activity is costing organizations time and money. More from gartner on sofware vendor audit trends and how.
Leading it research firm, gartner, has released figures showing a continued increase in the number of end user license audits conducted by. Internal audit s ability to protect assets, reputation and sustainability is becoming more critical and challenging amid rapid shifts in the business environment, risk landscape and stakeholder needs. A sam partner that gets it table of contents the myths of. Having the right tools and understanding how to prepare for an audit puts you, rather than the vendor and its auditors, in the drivers seat, and yields more positive results.
Vendors are from mars, customer are from venus by vic demarines, vp of product and strategy, revulytics audit clauses are a necessary part of enterprise. Data collected by gartner shows that revenuemotivated vendor license compliance audits are increasing for organizations of all sizes and industries. Software compliance dont make software license compliance. Peoplesoft software license 10 issues worth negotiating 24 september 2002 jane disbrow document type. There is a perfect storm of sorts brewing for independent software vendors isvs resulting from i increasing demands for new license revenue, ii aggressive competition from. Enterprises should have audit principles and processes that ensure they stay in. We were the first to extend sams value from counting licenses and compliance to software license optimization on premises, in the data center and in the cloud. Victoria barber is a research director with gartners it sourcing, procurement and asset management group. Software vendor audits can be triggered for a variety of reasons, and an audit request does not necessarily mean that your organization is suspected of noncompliance.
According to gartner, analytics enables software providers to improve retention and revenue by tracking how often and when the software including specific modules is being used, allowing identification of. If youre not convinced of its importance, let me give you five reasons why. Stoops said software asset management sam systems monitor actual software usage and enable companies to take a proactive approach that might help them eliminate shelfware and. The chances of receiving a software audit notice is at an alltime high, which is hardly surprising when you understand its a means of generating revenue for software vendors. Among organizations with 10,000 or more employees, ibm took the numberfour spot, bumping oracle to number five, and moving sap off the topfive list. We equip business leaders with indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their missioncritical priorities today and build the successful organizations of tomorrow. Software asset management and audits earlier this year, gartner published a report called software asset management is now a clevel imperative in which it explains how software. In separate research, also released by gartner, the analyst firm states that audits in the twelve months for 2016 organizations now have a 68% chance of being audited by at.