The resaon to enter into larger scale SAM programs is to reduce non-compliance with a high probability. 100% assurance is not achievable with today’s complex licensing rules.
But before investing heavily into an internal admin program, CIOs might look to the issue from the other side: How do we manage when caught non-compliant?
This is where vendor management comes into play, both from a general and from a contractual perspective:
- Does my vendor value me as a customer and my brand?
- Is there additional license demand that can be used as a lever in case of non-compliance?
- Have I negotiated the software verification rules to determine when non-compliance occurs un-intentional?
- Can I prove to my vendor that I am not deliberately lagging with my controls?
These 4 questions give you directions to establish the notion of being a good guy, even if you do not have the best SAM program in place. Or if you rather focus on improving the license price, when using optimization tools like License12. To further reduce the impact of remediating the non-compliance, there is a fifth very key question:
Did I negotiate a minimum discount for licenses to balance the over-usage, in case of no leverage?