Audit Are On The Rise

License audits by vendors are on the rise.  Research suggesting that the chances of being audited at least once in any year is around 30%, managers recent experiences would tend to suggest a higher figure.

The rise in audits has added to suspicions among managers that they are being targeted by vendors as an easy source of revenue. The latter will quickly respond that those who use their software must pay for it.

The Problem With Vendor Audits

Vendor audits are never welcome, however the issue is not just exposure to surprise costs and penalties in respect of unlicensed, or under-licensed software. Also of concern is the fact that these audits place a major additional administrative burden on IT administrators.

Audit Compliance is a Challenge

A letter arrives, from a major vendor, requesting that forms and spreadsheets are completed and returned. Compliance is not optional, but it is also not straight-forward.

With software on machines, virtual and real, across multiple locations, gathering the required information can take weeks and even months of painstaking inspection and reconciliation. Even at the end of this process managers can still have doubts about the completeness of the licensing information gathered – doubts that are easily exposed by a vendors analysis.

What is the Solution?

Vendors have turned the heat up on audits because they know that they generate revenue.  But is not until managers have detailed, accurate and up-to-date information about what the software that is being used in their organisations, vendor audits will cease to result in a hefty workload and costly surprises.

At iQuate our mission is to provide managers with such information in the most cost effective manner possible.