A new bill working its way through the legislative process is aiming to save the US Government hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary software licensing expenditure. With both Democrats and Republicans backing it, it is planning to make federal agencies utilize better management techniques for software licensing management and report these to Congress.

The bill follows on the back of a Government Accountability Office survey in 2014. This surveyed 24 federal agencies and departments and found only 2 with comprehensive policies. It concluded that this oversight on software license spending meant that the Government was missing out on savings.

It was estimated these potential savings could be significant considering that in 2011 the Department of the Interior reported saving approximately $80 million by consolidating its enterprise license agreements and it is reckoned that the Government as a whole spends more than $9 billion on software annually.

SOURCE: certero.com