Probrand launches software licensing department

SMBs under increased threat of legal action from vendors or enforcement bodies, VAR claims

VAR Probrand has launched a specialist software licensing department amid concerns that more SMBs are being nobbled by enforcement bods at software vendors or anti-piracy bodies.

According to a survey of 250 SMB customers carried about by Probrand, 87 per cent of businesses do not have the correct licences in place to cover the number of users. This could typically be down to allowing software licences to lapse without renewal, or renewing without re-counting the number of licences needed, it said.

This leaves them either wasting money on over-licensing, or - on the flip side - "on dangerous unlicensed and illegal territory", Probrand warned.

Enforcement organisations such as the Business Software Alliance and software vendors are now switching their focus to smaller businesses because larger organisations have moved to get their houses in order, Probrand claimed.

"Put simply, 87 per cent of businesses are either wasting money on over-licensing or are at risk of court action due to under-licensing their user base," said Probrand software department lead Rachel Campbell.

The new team, which comprises five staff spread across its Manchester and Birmingham offices, will give free help and guidance to firms caught in this "licensing minefield", Probrand said.

"We have been doing software licensing as part of our day-to-day business, but due to the concerns we identified among our customers, our focus in this area needed to be far sharper," a representative told CRN.

In a BSA survey carried out last year, nearly a third of UK small businesses admitted to knowingly using unlicensed software.