As software companies seek to maximise revenues by the use of audits on enterprise-size clients, software users are seeking to minimise their risk and ensure as close to 100% compliance of their software use and associated licensing. Creating an indestructible software audit defence is key to your success.

Companies faced with a licensing audit must create an “effective licensing position” (ELP) that highlights their software and digital usage and entitlement in readiness for a potential audit. This is where many companies come unstuck. Often entering the audit process from a “blind” position, companies are unprepared to effectively discover their licensing requirements, putting them in a poor negotiating position with a big software vendor.

There are yet to be produced any tools that prove to be 100% effective at sourcing and highlighting the licensing needs of an organisation. Couple this with the fact that consultancies that operate in the audit sector are often tied to a software vendor (ensuring little impartiality), and a company is left with little choice and, often, an increase in licensing expenditure.

The hybrid option, recommended by Gartner, allows the use of technology and people to provide a thorough software audit unbeaten by technology alone, empowering organisations with the data and expertise needed to face an audit from any software giant.