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Would you be ready for a software audit?

Computers have made doing business quicker and in many cases easier. But the computer by itself is nothing more than a box with a screen. You have to have software programs to make the computer a productive tool.

Do you know what software reside on your computer?  If you don’t know it’s probably time to find out.

Software companies just like any business they are in business make money.  They don’t want their valuable commodity being used by companies who don’t have the legal rights to use it.  So you really want to have the software on your computer to be in compliance.

There are many reasons that some of the software on the computers at your company may be out of compliance.  Some software companies may sell their software for use for a limited amount of time.  If that time has lapsed and you are still using the software it is out of compliance.

It’s possible that your company may have purchased the original software, but not the upgrade that one of your employees installed simply because they had it.

There are also cases where the software on your machine was purchased out of compliance for its use. Some software publishers will offer discounts for personal use. These versions, while identical to the full version, in the purchase agreement states they can’t be used for business purposes. This would make the software out of compliance.

You may not even be aware that the software is not in compliance, but if you happen to fall under an Audit it could cause a lot of trouble. Just the audit itself is troublesome; time is spent researching purchasing records, license agreement and other documents. After the audit you may find yourself in compliance, but most may also find themselves out of compliance with little leverage in negotiations.

Here are some things to assist you with your software inventory.

• Have a computer policy. It should state how the computer should be used, lists who may install software and document that unauthorized software can not be installed. Unauthorized software would be everything whether it’s free off of the Internet or purchased.
• Have one person or a small team being the authorizing point. You may also want to be part of that team.
• Document all software installed on each computer. Be certain that each copy has it’s own license and document such. One purchased copy put on the three machines is not valid unless the license agreement gives that right.
• Perform your own computer audit once a year.  One way to accomplish this is in conjunction with an employee performance review.  If the computer is found in compliance, than the employee did their job to maintain it as such.

If an audit is now performed, give the auditor the documented software list for each machine and you can feel confident that the audit will go smooth and, for you, successful.

© 2006-2007 Steven G. Atkinson – All rights reserved – tt4sb.com

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