Featured Article from Software Licensing

In a world where the cloud continues to get more and more attention, those who make their money in the software world have to change their strategy to remain viable. Software licensing is still important, but how do you clearly communicate usage terms to your business customers who think the cloud is always free?

In reality, IT decision makers understand there are requirements within software licensing usage agreements that require compensation. But realistically speaking, it’s not necessarily a priority when other demands get more attention. A recent report from IDC (News - Alert) may suggest that it’s time to pay attention, however. According to a Flexera Software blog, the research firm suggests that the more unlicensed software running on the corporate network, the greater the risk for malware.

Essentially, hackers often find they can gain entry through malicious code embedded in software that employees inadvertently or intentionally download. Without a software policy in place, it’s unclear to users just who can download what. It’s also likely that the right protections aren’t in place if the typical employee can add software to the corporate network – something that should be locked down.

The IT department should make it regular practice to inventory all software and hardware assets and then correlate software installations with known vulnerabilities. An important step of software vulnerability management, this ensures the organization can quickly remediate any security risks found in the enterprise. It also clearly outlines for all employees the steps that are followed when unauthorized software is found and needs to be immediately removed from the corporate network.

To that end, there are better ways to manage the assets the company needs without putting the corporate network at risk. Flexera suggests that over the next year or so, more security teams will discover that the inventory data they need is already being managed by their Software Asset Management teams, bringing the two to work together more closely in the future. This adds more value to the organization through the reduction in the security risk as well as software licensing compliance risk.

Throughout 2016, companies should expect to see software vendors continue to audit their use of software and to “true up” fees. The largest organizations will be hit the hardest in the quest for non-compliant activity. The adoption of software license optimization automation is also expected as companies seek to combat the software license audit risk. At the same time, Flexera expects to see acceleration in software overspending, pushing organizations to continue to move toward subscription-based software.

Overall, companies will be on heightened alert in the quest to be more diligent with usage, protecting the network and the bottom line. The use of subscription-based solutions will help, as well as proven processes for governance to ensure proper use and protection of the network overall.