Navigate a Software Audit

Think of a software audit as an opportunity to tidy up your software affairs. Stay organised, communicate openly, and view it as a chance to enhance your overall software management strategy.

Having a professional by your side during a software audit is like having a seasoned guide on a hike—less stress, more confidence, and a better chance of enjoying the journey without getting lost in the details.

A software audit notification letter can be daunting for any ITAM team.  It can cause much anxiety and disruption if the organisation is not prepared to be audit ready.

However, it can be turned into an opportunity with proper planning and guidance from the in-house SAM expert or a trusted partner like TMG.

The software audit notice is not the case of your organisation drawing the short straw and is generally triggered by some events, including:

  • Significant IT footprint changes, including mergers or acquisitions, IT environment migration;
  • Contractual: terminating a software contract, regular software audit clause in the agreement;
  • Financial: reducing or terminating software maintenance renewals, moving support to a third party, financial year or quarter targets of the vendor organisation;
  • Recent changes to the software license model (for example, Oracle Java)
  • Or simply a disgruntled employee reaching out to the vendor or their affiliated organisations like BSA

While software audits may seem like an ordeal, they’re actually a chance to step up our game in managing digital assets.

We’ve successfully tackled audits from big players like Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, VMWare, Red Hat, SAP, and Quest.

Reach out, and let’s team up to turn your software audit into a success story!

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Some essential tips to help you successfully navigate a software audit include:

Prompt Action

Take prompt action after receiving the audit notification letter and create an open channel of communication with the vendor, led by the nominated SPOC (generally the SAM or Commercial Manager)

Scope of Work

Define and agree on the scope of the audit, including products, business units and IT environments.

Understand the Process

Understand the complete audit process, including timeline and data requirements. Generally, the vendors will agree to take the existing data from your ITAM tool

Be Truthful

Be truthful and avoid taking any action that might result in future legal repercussions, including manipulation of the data

Buy-in From Stakeholders

Obtain buy-in from internal stakeholders, including management and IT teams. Establish an internal audit committee to promptly review the vendor requests and audit data before sending it off to the vendor

Commercial Strategy

Start working on a commercial strategy to negotiate with the vendor as early as possible.

Explore a suite of solutions designed to maximise efficiency and compliance.

 

Speak to us today.

The software audit can be lengthy and resource-intensive for any organisation due to the lack of a robust and mature Software Asset Management process. We have defended several vendor audits for our clients across key publishers, including Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, VMWare, Red Hat, SAP, and Quest.

Contact us to help your organisation navigate any software audit successfully.

Greg Misso

Head of SAM Operations

Greg has been in the Software Licensing and ITAM industry for over 20 years and has worked with a number of major Australian software resellers before moving into the SAM Solution publisher space.

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