Software licensing: hints on staying legit

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 08:23

IT Industry - Development

Step three is to remove unused software. If it's not installed, you don't need a licence.

Although taking these steps does involve some costs, Parker points out that in most cases it's less than you'd be required to pay to settle an allegation that you're using unlicensed software.

So why would a vendor single you out for an audit? Parker says he doesn't know how these decisions are made, but he suggests that audits are probably not the result of being dobbed in by a disgruntled former employee.

Parker makes two other interesting observations on the subject of licensing. One is that he often finds an organisation has an excess of licences. While this can be the result of downsizing, you don't want to keep paying for software you don't need.

The other is that most organisations he has dealt with aren't expecting to be as far from meeting their licensing obligations as they turn out to be. Consequently, they haven't given the matter as much attention as it deserved.

Putting resources into licence management can avoid nasty surprises and an even bigger bill down the track.

On the other hand, all this is less of a problem for organisations that have broadly adopted software released under the GPL and similar licences.