APSU reveals SAM acquisition ambitions

IBM partner on hunt for software license compliance consulting targets as it looks to help end users defend themselves against vendor compliance activities

VAR APSU is looking to bolster its software licence compliance business organically and through acquisition to help shield its customers from the growing threat of vendor audits.

The major software vendors are ramping up their compliance activities, APSU said, with a survey last year conducted by IDC finding that 63 per cent of end users had been audited over the previous 18 to 24 months.

"Oracle is the worst, but they're all at it," said Paul Bromelow, group commercial director at APSU.

"In today's constrained world, where margins for vendors have been eroded, they are looking for ways to ensure they are recovering the money they think they're owed."

APSU, which was formed in 2011 through the merger of IBM partners Apex Computers and AssurIT and recently bagged £7m in funding, offers its clients software licence compliance as-a-service, which Bromelow said is a rapidly growing part of its business.

"Our overall strategy is to leverage the great relationships we have built with clients in the past as a VAR and drive our managed services business forward," he said.

"Software licence compliance is an ideal place to deliver capability as a service. We'd typically say 'sign a three-year contract with us and we'll make sure you're clean'. It's growing quite dramatically for us. We've been expanding our capability using contractors but it's difficult to recruit quickly enough and so we are looking at the possibility of acquisitions."

Oracle was recently singled out by the Campaign for Clear Licensing as the worst offender but Bromelow said all the big vendors are guilty.

"Oracle stands out as the worst but I've seen some fairly aggressive positions from both IBM and HP."

"It's difficult to navigate your way through the changing world of vendor Ts and Cs on software, and clients find it even more difficult as they just don't have the level of expertise that a channel partner typically has. That's why we are seeing our business in this area growing."