Once your company has an effective SLM in place, your team will need to implement best practices with fidelity to get the most benefit.
Software license manager software license#
What are some software license management best practices? It should minimize your risk of lawsuits, cyberattacks, and other threats that result from a lack of software license compliance. Security:A robust SLM helps you manage the varying security requirements of your company’s SaaS tools.It should also allow for an efficient onboarding process with easily repeatable workflows. Your SLM should track the SaaS tools for each employee’s access level and to what degree. For example, someone providing IT services through the help desk will need different apps than human resources personnel. Hiring and Onboarding : You need to know which apps your team members are using to predict the cost of new hires.A centralized SLM is especially crucial as businesses increasingly use a combination of on-premises, cloud, and hybrid license entitlements. This simplicity helps reduce redundant activations and increases opportunities for collaboration. Decentralization: An SLM provides one clear hub for all applications.It can also find the ones you’re paying for in vain. SaaS Sprawl: If team members add or change license entitlements independently, a good SLM can track these.It should also have the workflows and automation you need to ensure software inventory changes are easy to make and record.Īs workplaces continue to use more SaaS software, a good software manager should help your company manage new and complex challenges like: Good software license managers offer a complete system that records all your apps, vendors, end-user license agreements (EULA), compliance data, and users. What is the role of a software license manager?
The bottom line is that these situations create SaaS waste that you can eliminate with the right software license management tools. An efficient software license manager would provide this valuable information to eliminate unnecessary licenses and help you budget more effectively. For example, some team members might use Google Hangouts while others use Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
You might also pay for several software license agreements that offer similar features. Ensuring license compliance is one fundamental way a software license manager can benefit your business. In a 2014 Gartner Research survey, 68% of enterprise organizations reported at least one vendor software audit request over a year. Too few licenses can be costly-if software vendors audit your company and discover that your usage is over the license agreements, they could fine your company. The Business Software Alliance monitors companies for non-compliance. This can happen if an employee leaves your company without an offboarding process that includes reassigning their apps. An effective SLM is a significant component of your company’s asset management solution.įor example, according to Blissfully’s 2020 SaaS Trends Report, duplicate software application subscriptions rose by 80% from 2018 to 2019.Įmployees often pay for apps your company already has due to a lack of a centralized software license manager.Īlso, orphaned app subscriptions were up by almost 100% across small, mid-market, and enterprise companies. License tracking can be daunting, but the right SaaS management tool provides the metrics you need. Why is software license management critical? SLM plays a vital role in any company’s overall software asset management (SAM) plan. SLM tools help track license usage and changes, ensure compliance, and accurately complete audits.Įffective SLM provides a complete picture of your company’s software stack, which helps you make better decisions that maximize your ROI. Software license management (SLM) refers to your company’s plan to keep track of all of its SaaS license purchases. The right tools can help you automate your SLM to save you time and money. That’s where effective software license management comes in. But overseeing your business’s software licensing can be a Herculean task without the right solutions. Successful IT asset management (ITAM) is managing your business’s hardware and software optimization. You might be surprised at how many duplicated and orphaned software products you find. Suppose your company is growing fast without a protocol for license management. In 2020, company spending on SaaS tools went up 50 percent.