According to Gartner, your organization now has a 65% chance of being audited by at least one software vendor this year. Software audits are disruptive, slow and expensive – the last thing your organization wants... ARE YOU READY?

1. Why Do Software Vendors Audit Customers?
And what to do when you receive a request
Presented by:
License Dashboard

2. Audits are on the up!
According to Gartner, your organization now has a
65% chance of being audited by at least one
software vendor this year. Software audits are
disruptive, slow and expensive – the last thing your
organization wants...

3. And the cost is big
With the average software audit tying-up resources
for at least three months and costing as much as
$500,000 / £315,000, understanding what
steps can be taken to avoid or minimize the
disruption caused by an audit could save your
organization a small fortune!

4. Are you ready?
To help you minimize the risks surrounding software audits, License
Dashboard has published this presentation along with a free guide to
help you understand:
• Why software audits happen
• How software vendors decide who to target
• What to do to make your organization a less attractive target
• How to respond to a software audit request
• What to do to ensure audits do not become a regular occurrence
This presentation will give a brief insight into these points, but for a
comprehensive guide, download our free white paper.

5. Why do vendors audit?
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Source: E&Y, Compliance Without Tears, 2011

6. Audit Triggers
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Inconsistency in History of poor Customer size Mergers & Global footprint
purchasing compliance Acquisitions
Source: E&Y, Compliance Without Tears, 2011

7. The risks of an audit
FOUR key areas of risk
Financial – addressing shortfall costs money, unplanned expenditure is worst!
Productivity – audits can divert resources for months on end
Legal – risk of ending up court, requiring legal representation
Reputational – hard to quantify, but equally dangerous
Case Study:
US Gartner Client – received audit request; no SAM tools or practices in place
Audit process took six months; internal costs $500,000
True-up cost circa $200,000

8. Best practices to avoid audit
Use volume licensing agreements where appropriate
Improve record-keeping and centralize contracts
Define and document policies on software – who gets what
Define and deploy standard software builds
Deploy inventory solution to accurate monitor deployments
Record licenses centrally and reconcile against usage
Prepare ELP statements on a regular basis
Negotiate audit clauses in license contracts – 60 days written notice
DEPLOY A LICENSE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION!

9. www.licensedashboard.com
Download our free guide