Checking software licences for free

Software licencing has for years been a subject fraught with little, and some not so little, dangers for the average business. Cloud computing can make those dangers more abundant, not least because it can help problems to proliferate across multiple systems and environments both within and outside of a single business.

So finding ways of identifying and trapping these problems before they become issues with software audits and the like should always be of interest to businesses running cloud services.

A new tool to help with this task has now come from Express Metrix, which specialises in Software Asset Management solutions.  It has come up with a free, full-featured version of its enterprise-class software compliance solution, known as the Inventory Edition, to help more organisations overcome budget or resource restrictions and achieve audit-ready licence status.

This can be used by organisations with up to 1,000 machines. It offers a rich set of features allowing IT professionals to track and manage licence compliance status, and provides enterprise-class functionality combined with exceptional flexibility and ease of use.

The solution is designed to enable small to midsize organisations with limited budget achieve software compliance, while also identifying areas of licence over-spend.

It is also ideal for larger companies contemplating a broader investment in SAM to test and prove the value of a SAM solution for their organisation. The tool is available for free download here.

“This offering provides critical capabilities to every organisation with a desire to minimise compliance risk,” said Express Metrix CEO Kris Barker. “We wanted to do something to diminish the fear of software audits. No company, whatever their budget or size, should be held hostage by the complexity of software licensing if they are making a good-faith effort to be compliant.”

The complimentary Inventory Edition is aimedat addressing challenges not met by what the company sees as inadequate `free trials of SAM tools. It provides perpetual use of the feature set, with capabilities that include licence-centric IT asset reporting to identify which software titles, versions and editions are installed across the organisation; comparing discovered software with licence counts; and revealing unlicenced software that represents a risk in the event of an audit. 

In addition to its compliance reporting, the Inventory Edition provides access to a comprehensive software recognition library, ease of installation and use, support for virtualised environments and, if desired, integration with Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).

“Companies cannot financially afford to continue to over-purchase software licences, and legally cannot risk under-purchasing as it is an actionable infringement,” said Alex Hilton, CEO for the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST), the organisation which businesses will find themselves facing if they get caught out by a software audit.

“Added to this, studies suggest that those businesses that make a concerted effort to stay on the right side of the law are less likely to be audited than those that don’t. These have to be the most compelling arguments for adopting effective SAM policies in the current market. Ultimately it’s far cheaper and easier to keep control of your IT estate and software licensing at the very beginning, rather than to cut corners and get caught out by an inevitable licence audit.”