22Mar
Be Wary of Audit Tools Promoted by Software Auditors
Most companies with more than a handful of computers in their IT environments rely on the results of network-inventory tools to gather the deployment data needed for accurate software audits. Without the tools, a business...
14Nov
Releases of Liability as Part of Licensing Deals – How Hard to Push?
Software publishers know that the vast majority of their customers are, to varying degrees, out of compliance with the terms of license agreements governing their use of the publishers’ software products. Especially in larger enterprises,...
14Nov
Software Audits: The Importance of Timely Completion of Post-Settlement Obligations
Software audits initiated by software publishers or representative entities, such as the Business Software Alliance (“BSA”) and Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”), are often resolved by an out-of-court settlement. The carefully crafted settlement agreements...
31Oct
Effective Audit-Response Policies Can Be Vital in Responding to Software Audits
Businesses often have close relationships with software vendors, and that closeness usually is in direct proportion to the extent and importance of those vendors’ software products in the businesses’ network environments. However, despite their best...
31Oct
Can a Software Publisher Force You to Audit Your Customers?
Many software-solution vendors utilize third-party infrastructure or application programs as frameworks for embedded solutions that they sell to their customers and install on their customers’ computers. Licenses for those third-party products typically can be acquired...
19Sep
Software-Audit Compliance Demands Often Include “Fuzzy Math”
In defending against software audits initiated by publishers such as Microsoft or IBM, many businesses make the mistake of assuming that those publishers or their designated auditors know what they are talking about when it...