What is Software License Management (SLM)?

In today, technology is the key element for many companies. Companies increase their IT spending on software applications. According to ‘’Gartner reports,’’ the increase in IT spending will continue in the coming years. In addition, software maintenance, security and audit costs constitute important cost items for businesses. Therefore, one of the best ways for organizations to avoid unnecessary IT costs is to implement a successful software license management strategy.

What Is Software License Management?

Software License Management (SLM) refers to the processes for companies to control and determine where and how all software licenses are used. SLM can help companies comply with federal and state regulations, reduce risk and save money by managing their software assets more effectively.

SLM is an important component of a company's Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) strategy. The purpose of EAM is to track all assets throughout their lifecycle so that they can be managed efficiently and cost-effectively. Software assets are one type of asset that must be tracked, but they have unique characteristics that make them different from other types of assets.

A software license is a legal document containing instructions for using the software. SLM provides a single place to manage software licenses used across organizations. In this way, Software License Management, which is a part of Software Asset Management, simplifies processes such as reducing IT costs and documentation.

SLM is required to ensure that the business complies with the relevant "End-User License Agreement (EULA)". A typical agreement determines the details and features of the purchase of licenses. A successful Software License Management tracks all of this and streamlines the software licenses of businesses.

Benefits of Software License Management

The main goal of Software license management is to make sure that you don't overuse or underuse your software licenses. It helps you reduce costs and make sure that your company is staying within compliance with licensing terms.

Having all software licenses under control is a great advantage for companies. SLM enables businesses to save on IT expenses by identifying unused software. Unused software quickly depletes the IT budget and incurs residual costs. However, SLM keeps track of all purchases and ensures businesses dominate the process.

Another benefit of Software License Management is all software products of the company are compatible with software licenses. If the businesses do not follow the guidelines in software licenses, it is possible to face legal problems.

Software License Management is also important for organizations that have a lot of different types of software in use across their organization. For example, large enterprises may have several hundred different applications in use at any given time — from office productivity apps like Microsoft Office 365 or Google Drive to custom internal applications written by developers in-house, to off-the-shelf tools like Salesforce. In this case, it’s important for IT teams to know exactly what applications are running on which machines so they can do things like schedule upgrades or reallocate server resources accordingly.

Software License Management Best Practices

Software license management (SLM) is a complex process that requires a lot of time and effort to implement. To reap the benefits of SLM, you need to make sure you are doing it right.

Automation is one of the key factors in an effective SLM process. It enables you to reduce manual efforts and errors while increasing accuracy and productivity. It also frees up time for your staff so they can focus on other important tasks. Software license management tools offer automation options that allow you to do things like license tracking and auditing, inventory management, software reporting and more. Some tools even come with features such as automated notifications when licenses are going to expire soon or when they have already expired.

Here are some software license management best practices:

• Effective Policy: Create a software management policy that is clear and effective. In this way, the required control and track become easier.
• Process: Process and planning are done to manage the life cycle of software products.
• Audits: Companies distribute the latest software updates by performing regular checks.
• Trace-ability: Businesses keep track of how applications are being used and who is using them. Thus, it becomes easy to manage and have a command of processes.
• Measure Outcome: Organizations measure cost savings at the end of the process and proceed accordingly.

Risks of Ineffective License Management

As companies grow and expand, they often add new software to their arsenal. This may include enterprise-level software as well as other types of software that can be used to improve business operations.

The problem is that many companies do not have a license management process in place. If you don't manage your software licenses correctly, it can lead to serious problems.

The most common risks of ineffective license management are:

• Unpaid Software License Fees: This is the biggest risk and can lead to losing the software. If the license fees are not paid, the software stops working. You will have to buy a new license or uninstall the software and find an alternative solution for your business needs.
• Inability to Install Licensed Software: This happens when you don't have enough licenses or if you exceed your licenses' limits. If this happens, you won't be able to install or use the licensed software on any computer or device in your organization.
• Vulnerability to Data Loss: Without proper license management, you may lose access to critical data stored in your databases, applications and other systems that rely on licensed software solutions.

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