Software vendors likened to mean traffic cops

As software audit activity rises, some publishers are using ‘questionable' means to catch out customers, Forrester claims

Vendors are being increasingly militant when it comes to software audits

A report has likened some software vendors to ‘revenue-generating’ traffic cops as their methods of catching out end users through licence audits become ever-more brazen.

Last year saw a rise in software audit activity, according to a report from Forrester Research entitled Surviving A Software License Audit.

However, Forrester admitted that many vendors’ audit teams appeared to be meeting their revenue targets by exploiting technicalities and loopholes, in addition to spotting genuine under-licensing within their customer bases.

In some cases, they used “questionable interpretation of contract clauses” to claw back cash, according to report author Duncan Jones.

Jones divided vendors into two camps based on their attitude to software asset management (SAM).

“The better vendors are like those traffic police that prevent speeding by being highly visible – they focus on encouraging and supporting good SAM,” he explained. “Microsoft and Adobe subsidise resellers to advise customers on SAM best practices.

“But others seem to be like the revenue-generating cops who hide with their radar guns in bushes at the bottom of steep hills.”

SAM is being tipped as a big growth area for resellers too as they help worried end users get up to speed – just last month corporate reseller Kelway snapped up reseller SAM Practice, citing heightened demand for SAM services.

Forrester's report also detailed how the causes of disputes have risen, with vendors delivering an ever-widening list of reasons for alleged non-compliance.

Virtualisation, multi-plexing and external use were among some of the common causes listed by the analyst.

The research came as vendor-backed anti-piracy body, the Business Software Alliance, reached a settlement with another UK organisation for alleged use of unlicensed Microsoft and Adobe software.