201902.06
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Responding to the Dreaded Software Audit

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Modern financial history is chock full of embarrassing audit scandals, which caused executives and corporate brand names severe damage from intentional fabrication of revenues, or creating imaginary profits, or claiming assets that turn out to be a mirage. There’s a new scary cousin of traditional financial audits known as the software audit. It’s increasingly become…

201902.04
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11 Secrets to Defending BSA | The Software Alliance Audits

Don’t be in the dark on how to prepare and respond to software audits. An increasing number of companies face software audits initiated by software publishers and their trade associations, such as BSA | The Software Alliance and the Software & Information Industry Association. Most companies are totally unprepared; many underestimate their exposure and are…

201901.29
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Audits in the Cloud

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Traditionally, software audits were conducted by gaining access to software installations and reviewing entitlements. Theoretically, if a customer is using a cloud product accessed by login credentials, then audits wouldn’t be an issue because the software publisher would be in complete control of the customers’ access to its systems. But, audits can still be a…

201805.08
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SAP Introduces New Pricing Model for Indirect Access

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In response to continued customer concerns about how to license for access to SAP products by third parties or by processes, SAP announced that it was offering a new pricing model based on indirect access.  Customers using SAP S/4HANA, SAP S/4HANA Cloud, and SAP ERP solutions should carefully evaluate the new license model offered by…

201705.23
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Responding to Autodesk Audits

The BSA and SIIA are not the only organizations pursuing business for software copyright infringement. Though it is a member of both the BSA and SIIA, Autodesk, which manufactures the popular design software AutoCAD, often pursues audit targets on its own. The audits begin much like those instituted by the BSA or SIIA. The target…

201611.14
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Microsoft Clarifies Rules Related to Self-Hosting

I previously presented my thoughts here regarding changes Microsoft made to its Product Terms pertaining to the Self-Hosted Applications benefit under Software Assurance. After publishing that entry, Microsoft reached out to me to clarify that the principal effect of the change actually is to increase self-hosting rights by extending them to deployments hosted by a…

201609.14
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Autodesk Settlement Agreements: Beware Restrictive Superseding License Terms

A software audit typically resolves in one of three ways: a dismissal, a settlement, or litigation. The most common path to resolution is a settlement between the parties for potential copyright infringement stemming from allegedly unlicensed software. Software publishers sometimes authorize entities such as the Business Software Alliance (“BSA”) or Software & Information Industry Association…

201609.13
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Is Microsoft Trying to Kill Self-Hosting?

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Earlier this year, with no fanfare (which is perhaps unsurprising), Microsoft implemented a significant change to its Product Terms pertaining to Software Assurance (SA) benefits that likely will have a significant licensing impact for companies that have taken advantage of the Self-Hosted Applications benefit accompanying SA. For several years now, Microsoft has allowed customers with…

201607.11
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Be Wary of Certain ISV and Embedded Software Agreements

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It is common for software solution providers to use third-party products to support the functionalities those providers have developed for their solutions. For example, a network-monitoring solution may incorporate IBM Cognos functionality, or an accounting solution may incorporate a Microsoft SQL Server database. Increasingly, in today’s market, those solutions are hosted over the Internet, and…