Technology helps businesses thrive in this increasingly competitive modern world. As a result, overall information technology (IT) spending is also increasing. And one of the most expensive categories in every business IT infrastructure is software.
According to statistics, IT spending grew by over 8% in 2017 and is only expected to continue increasing this year and beyond. That said, experts found that over 35% of a business fund wasted on unused software due to poor asset management or lack of communication.
Whether you're running a small business or a huge enterprise, letting that much money out of the window on unused assets is not good for the business. This doesn't have to be the case. One of the best ways to avoid wasting costs on unused software is to have solid software license management.
Software License Management: What Is It?
Software license management refers to the processes and tools that a business uses to plan and manage their software licenses. This ensures compliance with the requirements of the software developer and to keep their business software organized.
With solid software license management, you gain complete transparency into your business's software assets, licenses, usage, and contracts. This way, you can fully understand what software is being used, by whom, how much, and where. By having this full visibility into your software usage, you can streamline your licenses, optimize usage, and protect your future software investment.
While your IT team can manage your software licenses, if your enterprise is using a lot of software or managing complex solutions, you can also outsource specialized IT services like Resolute Technology Solutions, a competitive IT company Winnipeg has to offer to support your IT team.
The Why Of Software License Management
Most small businesses don't fully understand the need for software license management. Below, are a few benefits of why you should start managing your software licenses.
1. It Saves Costs
This is perhaps the most important benefit of software license management. As mentioned before, IT spending on software is increasing, and yet most businesses waste a significant amount of money on unused software.
With software license management, your business can determine how much each software is being used and how many people are actually benefiting from the software solution. This way, your business can identify any unnecessary spending and streamline your business expenses.
2. It Ensures Transparency
Implementing solid software license management gives your business a clear view of all software licenses being used across departments and how each software is set up for use. This way, when a software audit occurs, you can quickly have access to all the information required to assess risk and stay compliant.
3. It Allows For Better Budgeting
With a proper software licensing management solution, your business's software costs become more predictable, allowing for easier and more accurate forecasts. You'll gain new insights into how your licensing aligns with your overall business objectives and goals.
As a result, it allows you to plan the budgetary requirements with software procurement and helps you focus your resources on more critical business strategies instead of technology operations.
Software License Management Tips And Best Practices
If you're ready to start developing a comprehensive software license management program, make sure to consider these tips and best practices to enjoy the benefits mentioned above.
1. Use The Right Tool
When managing your business software, you also need intuitive software to make the process a lot easier. And with any software you use in your company, you need to do some research to find the best one for your business.
The best software asset management tool should include key features and functionalities, including license management, software discovery, and good analytics and reporting, among others.
2. Obtain And Maintain Licensing Documentation
With your chosen software license management solution, you can input critical information, starting with the licensing documentation of each software application your business uses. Maintaining transparent licensing documentation in hand allows you to easily compare it to the current software installed.
3. Assign A License Manager
Choosing the right software license management solution to streamline the process is just one part of the equation. Though software can easily automate the process, it still needs human expertise to fully utilize and achieve your software license management goals.
So, make sure to establish a dedicated team or simply appoint a designated license manager to be in charge of your software license management. This ensures that your business stays in compliance.
4. Set Reminders
Scheduling software license management alerts for critical events in your software life cycle prevents you from falling behind with routine maintenance, license renewals, and more. By setting up reminders on your software license management solution, your license manager can easily track each software license with minimal effort and stay on top of updates and compliance requirements.
Takeaway
Software licensing management is a dense subject. It will take time before you can fully understand the complexities of your business's various license agreements. This article has provided you with the basics and most important parts of software licensing management.