30 Days of Compliance Q&As #17: Are You a Target for a Software Audit?

When you hear the word “audit,” you probably think of compliance mandates such as PCI, HIPAA, and SOX. However, software companies are getting into the audit game with increasing velocity.

A recent “2013 Software Audit Industry Report” by Express Metrix showed exposed some interesting results.

Top five software vendors to have audited companies within the last two years:

1. Microsoft
2. Adobe
3. Autodesk
4. Oracle *
5. SAP

Source: Express Metrix 2013 Software Asset Management Survey

Who is being audited?

Not surprisingly, companies with 5,000 or more employees report being audited at a higher rate over the past two years than those with fewer than 5,000 employees.

However, it appears that organizations with between 500 and 4,999 employees and more than 25,000 employees were targeted more heavily in 2013 than they were in 2012, suggesting that software companies are moving more heavily into those areas.

Source: Express Metrix 2013 Software Asset Management Survey

What’s making license audits so difficult? 

Companies cite the following reasons why tracking license compliance is so difficult:

1. License agreements are difficult to understand or interpret
2. Complex IT environments
3. IT professionals can’t easily reconcile what’s installed with what’s actually being used 

Source: Express Metrix 2013 Software Asset Management Survey

How you can prepare for a software audit?

Use a Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and completely automate detection of devices, serial numbers, software, patches, IP addresses, interface information, patches, configurations, physical and virtual servers, and topology maps. AccelOps CMDB uses no agents and common access methods like SNMP, SSH, Telnet, WMI, API’s, and logs that automatically populate the CMDB.

AccelOps brings all of this information into a single solution linking a CMDB that constantly monitors your environment for changes.

Want to discuss how a CMDB can make your I.T. Operations and compliance easier? Contact AccelOps to learn more. We’re here to help.