Software Asset Management (SAM) Blog

The latest research from Gartner (Data Center Polling Illustrates IT Asset Management as an Enabler, 8 March 2010) states that software audits continued to increase in volume through 2009. Around 60 percent of respondents in Deceber 2009 stated that they had been subject to at least one software audit in the previous 12 months. The same question posed at the end of 2008 elicited a 38 percent positive response, showing the scale of the increase in audits.

Further, Gartner states that around 20 percent of all ITAM calls it takes are now concerned with software audits, compared with around 5 - 8 percent historically.

IBM has filed a lawsuit in which it accuses a former customer of downloading and using more than $1.7 million worth of Informix software it was not entitled to.

IBM says it offered to reach a settlement with the broker, but that this was rejected and the illegal software has still not been deleted from the company’s network. IBM is asking the court to award it unspecified damages and issue an injunction that would impound all copies of Informix software that it believes were improperly downloaded.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) today announced settlements worth more than £50,000 (US $81,000) with three manufacturing companies in the UK.

The largest of the three settlements saw a manufacturer of office furniture pay up £20,000 to settle alleged use of unlicensed copies of software from Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft on 50 computers. In addition to the legal settlement, the company has also spent around £8,000 on new licenses to address the previous shortfall.

Although the manufacturing industry might not be an obvious heavy user of IT and software, the need to plan projects, process orders and track deliveries is central to efficient operations for organizations in this sector. As such, manufacturing companies of all types and sizes need to take the management of their software licenses seriously.

The BSA operates a whistle-blowing hotline to report suspected misuse of software licenses.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has simultaneously announced legal actions in both the USA and UK, totalling a reported US $256,000 (UK £155,000). According to BSA media releases, an industry materials firm in Florida and three separate businesses in London, UK were all found to be using unlicensed software.

Although the companies in question reportedly co-operated fully with the BSA in its investigation, the scale of the financial agreement is a strong indicator that the industry watchdog is taking a firm line with organizations that can’t prove they have a responsible and proactive approach to Software Asset Management.

The actual cost of the software is likely to be a relatively small percentage of the overall settlement, showing that getting your house in order prior to an audit is a much more cost-effective option.