License management software ensures software usage in an organization is authorized and legal, preventing the company from incurring fees due to illegal usage. The software may automate scanning, alerting, the procurement of new licenses, uninstalling or blocking the use of unlicensed software, and other actions related to ensuring proper licensing.
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License Management Software tracks software installed throughout the enterprise and ensures legal licensure for its usage. The software may automate scanning, alerting, the procurement of new licenses. It may also uninstall or block the use of unlicensed software. This reduces the risk of fees for illegal use.
Additionally, the software may perform license optimization. This is a cost-saving process where software usage is tracked and aligned with the proper licensure spend. Ensuring the company doesn’t buy too many seats leads to savings, and is touted by vendors as the largest potential benefit of license management. The process is alternately referred to as ELP (for “effective license position”). License management and optimization is an essential element of SAM (software asset management).
To achieve licensure optimization, license management software offer the following:
Automated commercial software recognition
License expiry tracking and alerting
License compliance gap alerting
License reconciliation (reallocation of licenses, acquisition)
Unauthorized software alert
Bulk notification of unauthorized software, license change
Stakeholder notification of pending renewal
Identification of license types (e.g. trial, OEM, named user, etc.)
Tracking licenses installed
Tracking licensure entitlements
Comparing installations to entitlements for ELP
When choosing a license management solution, there are a few factors you should consider to choose the right software for your organization.
Legal Protections: Some license management solutions include features to automatically uninstall or block unlicensed software. This can be useful for preventing legal issues.
Alerting: Many license management tools include alerts when licenses are near lapsing. If you don’t already have tools for renewing licenses, this is a key feature.License management software is most often offered as part of a suite. It may be acquired in a software asset management (SAM) suite, an ITSM suite, or an ITAM suite. SAM or ITAM suites tend to carry a higher price tag as they may be oriented to the needs of large enterprises. Pricing varies directly with the number of employees and the complexity of IT infrastructure.
