"Global dollar losses due to software piracy increased 19% in 2002 to US$13.08 billion, including US$2.3 billion in North America."

> Business Software Alliance, June 2003
 

What is License Metering?

Software License Metering forms an integral part of an organization's Software Asset Management strategy.  It includes both the passive process of monitoring software license usage and the active enforcement of license policies.  It's a simple, cost-effective means for organizations to eliminate the risks of non-compliance to software license agreements, with the added benefit of being able to save on software costs.  Metering tools, such as System Integrators License Broker™ and Component License Broker™, track application and component usage in real time to deliver the following benefits:

Cost Avoidance - The Perfect Safety Net

The risks of license non-compliance are high - and avoidable.  Use a metering tool to actively enforce compliance to individual software licensing models and also to detect the use of pirated software on your network. You can then generate usage reports to demonstrate compliance to both key stakeholders and auditors.

  Cost Reduction - Taking Control of Your Software Assets

License usage reports tell you what software is being used, by whom, when - use this information to take control of your network assets by optimizing the distribution of licenses among personnel and eliminating unused applications. 
Use this data to also make informed decisions about your future software purchasing and upgrade requirements and purchase upgrades for only the applications that are actually being used.
You also have the opportunity to improve employee productivity by restricting access to unauthorized software (e.g. games) and/or reserving licenses for key personnel.

What is the difference between audit and metering tools?

Audit tools such as System Integrators Integrated Auditor™ take a static snapshot of a desktop's software to provide an inventory of applications installed.  They are useful as input to the process of standardizing the operating environment. However, being static, they are a labor-intensive way of ensuring ongoing license compliance as the audit results need to be manually compared against actual software purchased. The process then needs to be repeated periodically.  Audit tools may be suitable for organizations with less than 20 desktops - note however that the audit results represent compliance status at a given instance only (i.e. does not provide assurance or protection against license copying in between periods).

Metering tools such as System Integrators License Broker™ and Component License Broker™ on the other hand are dynamic - they actively detect and monitor applications being run by end-users (and components these applications in turn use) in real-time.  Metering tools provide protection against the introduction of pirated software whilst allowing Administrators to control software usage and enforce licensing policies.  In addition, metering tools provide the historic software usage data required to accurately project future software licensing needs (and hence procure significant savings by only buying what you need).

What risks am I facing for non-compliance to software license agreements?

IT Managers own the responsibility of ensuring their organization is operating within the legal parameters of their software license agreements and are not using pirated software. Software audits by either vendors or industry watch-dogs can and do happen.  The penalties and ramifications of being caught are serious and widespread - from heavy fines to harmful publicity and damages to reputation. By simply employing a metering solution these risks can be avoided.