Software Asset Management & License Audits

The number of licence audits is increasing. At the same time, licence conditions are becoming increasingly complex due to virtualisation, the cloud and digitalisation. However, implementing effective and efficient licence management is expensive and requires expertise that is often not available within the company. Companies also want secure software asset management that creates transparency and ensures licence compliance.

Our experts support you when it comes to designing and implementing strategic software asset management. Our licence management consulting services cover the following areas:

• Information collection: IT infrastructure data, hardware/software inventory, licence and contract data;
• Technical analysis: we compare purchased, installed, used and billed licences;
• Licence compliance management: audit-proof licence balance for each manufacturer, derivation of corrective measures & recommendations regarding cost optimisation.

Our solution: Software Asset Management as a managed service. This means that companies do not need to invest in setting up their own software asset management solution. The result is a reliable, audit-proof licence balance that has been quality-checked with the trained eye of an auditor. 

We give you the security of licence compliance and audit security vis-à-vis the software manufacturers. As part of the KPMG Software Asset Management Managed Service, we provide a guarantee that protects you from future penalties and additional payments resulting from a software audit. In the event of a claim, KPMG assumes the costs of subsequent licensing and gives you more security during a licence audit. 

Complex licence metrics place high demands on licence management - especially if there are many individual agreements for individual contracts. The resulting under-licensing and incorrect billing of licence fees lead to a loss of revenue for the licensor.

It is not always possible to technically limit the use of licences. Licensors must therefore use other methods to secure their rights. One option is regular licence or royalty audits, which enable a comparison to be made between the agreed and actual use of the licence. The legal basis for this are the ‘audit clauses’ contained in the standardised licence agreements. 

Our aim is to create the greatest possible transparency and security for our customers by analysing our customers' relationships with third-party providers via self-reporting. In addition, we review the (non-)financial contractual provisions that our customers have entered into with their contractual partners.

• Licensed audits for licensors: Protection of intellectual property and prevention of sales losses through plausibility checks of the current contractual situation on the customer side. 
• Audits for suppliers (licencees): Validation of (non-)financial specifications of supplier contracts as well as identification and monetary evaluation of potential financial reimbursement.
• Channel audits: Support in the optimisation of contractual provisions with our customers' suppliers and prevention of revenue losses by reviewing the agreement made.