Software asset management

With license management (including software license management ) refers to a process in companies that protects the legal and efficient handling of proprietary software in the enterprise. License management takes on all areas of the business impact of the procurement on any PC workstation to management.

Overview

Demarcation

Basically, there are according to German law, the opportunity to purchase software as part of a property purchase, for example, from a dealer ( new software ) or other users ( used software ), ie of sellers that are not normally entitled to grant licenses and license agreements to close. The use is then determined by the copyright and it is not a license to pass, even if during the installation of the software, a corresponding acknowledgment is required by the user.

Under a license agreement, a number of provisions for the distribution and use of software can be freely agreed between the parties, to be explained in the following terms shall have naturalized.

Background

Technically speaking, could an installer, which is present, for example, on a disk such as a CD, be able to make as many installations.

Takes place, the consent of the author for use in commercial software, for example in the form of licensing agreements that determine under what conditions and how often the program should be installed. Also a re-use the license after you uninstall the software or scrapping of the target computer is often controlled by the License Agreement. A technically identical software product may come in a company at the same time depending on the existing license agreements under different license terms used, such as a concurrent user license model for workstations and with dongle for laptops. A license agreement can also regulate the commercial re-use of software, even if it is for example free of charge.

In Germany, the consent of the author or the copyright owner is required if the disk does not come from the author ( reproduction piece within the meaning of § 69a -g of the Copyright Act ) or comes from him, but is to be used for more than one installation, which for example in the context a license agreement may be granted.

Consequences of license violations

The civil consequences of license violations are defined in the License Agreement. In addition, they may also represent infringements of copyright and thus a criminal offense.

Situation in the EU

Basically, the resale of licenses a licensee can indeed be excluded in the license agreement, the exclusion is but for example in the EU without effect.

The subsequent installation of updates to the software or in the context of maintenance contracts is the rights of the licensor not reinstated. Only the splitting of the license is still subject to the approval of the license holder.

Not every violation of the license agreement is a violation of copyright. The licensor (software vendor) can make claims outside of copyright law applied only to civil or only over its licensees.

Situation in Germany

If there are serious violations of license, the licensor may have the right under certain circumstances to terminate the license agreement pursuant to § 314 BGB extraordinary.

If the licensee sells the license to a third party, they can use the third party in the context of copyright free.

Proof of License

Licenses for installed programs are contract documents and should be kept as such, especially to prove to the rights of use in case of dispute.

The rights and obligations of a license agreement are ranked in the license management after three to four factors:

Type of license

The type of license describes whether the license exactly one provision allowed ( single license ) or a multiple deployment ( site license ) - or whether the license regulates the commercial re-use the software under its own software products or systems. If a license key to unlock the legitimate deployments is used, the principle is: per license agreement exists, a license key. Multiple licenses provide therefore in companies large advantages in technical provision of software, since all the deployments can be done with the same license key and thus an automated software distribution is greatly simplified.

Multiple licenses can be described differently depending on the license metric, such as:

• Volume License ( includes s licenses)
• Site License ( includes all deployments within a designated location )
• Corporate License ( includes all deployments within the enterprise )

License class

The license class software typed the contractual requirements for the use of software. The following common examples of license classes require ( unless otherwise stated ) each have a separate detection:

• A full version can be used on its own and does not require any previous version.
• An upgrade requires the presence of an earlier full version and possibly a complete record of all previous upgrades. For accounting license upgrade and downgrade licenses can only be credited if the continuous license chain from the previous full version via appropriate upgrade licenses again yield an effective full license. This license chain formation and its documentation is also called assembly.
• Updates include bug fixes or minor software additions, mostly as sub-version or hotfix within a version. When using an update, no additional proof of license for the upgrade version is required.
• Add- ons are additional components to make a software that need not necessarily be listed by the manufacturer of the software use permission of the software.
• Client Access Licenses ( "CAL" ), additional licenses to use the services of a server on which a database, for example, offers its services. The use of the database can make additional licenses required.
• Combinations and special forms: Add-on upgrade ( an add-on in the form of an upgrade )
• CAL - Upgrade ( a CAL in the form of an upgrade )
• Cross-Upgrade (similar to an upgrade in commercial terms, but is technically switching to another product from )

Type of License

In the literature sometimes distinguishes between license types and license metrics, with the license type refers to the type of the underlying variable ( eg, device, user, time, use process ) and the license metric then describes the exact shape of the measurement. However, this terminology is not standardized yet.

License metric

The license metric indicates how the license needs to be counted. Regular metrics take into account one or more of the following:

• Number of installations
• Operating system used, for example, databases that differentiate according to the performance of the operating system
• Number of named machines, if the license has a fixed relation to a particular hardware, such as OEM license
• CI ( Configuration Item )
• Number of named users
• Maximum number of concurrent users (see also concurrent user license model )
• Number of processors, some further differentiated according to the number of processor cores
• Performance of the processors, for example, or MIPS MHz
• Number of sites where the software is used
• Number of network segments in which the software is used
• Duration of use ( in the given unit )
• Use process ( pay per use, software as a service)
• Session
• Data volume ( in the given unit )
• Utilized versions from a list
• Access permissions, such as Microsoft Client Access Licenses ( "CAL" )
• Groups of functions of a software
• Used token (see also token -based licensing model )
• And v. a m., often combinations of these metrics

Many licensors offer here several variants of the same software to meet the demands of the market better.

Levels of license management

The license management is divided into the following stages:

• This requires the identification of the commercial software product, including its version based on the found features.
• This license requirement may need to be supplemented by technical indeterminable access rights (Client Access Licenses).

• This requires the interpretation of the existing contracts, if necessary, by contract combinations taking into account available at the current time on the market product versions.
• This specific rights and obligations are taken into account, if necessary Upgrade-/Downgrade-Rechte
• Multiple - use rights of a user
• Reporting or registration requirements

• Results of the audit License coverage or over-licensing: There are more licenses than software deployments or installations. Depending on the degree of over-licensing, this can mean an economic loss for the company.

• Depending on the license contract certain deadlines can thereby be agreed for the compliance check, outside of which no check is required. If such deadlines expressly agreed, an ongoing compliance check is required.
• Any detected or detectable at a required compliance check sublicense represents a breach of the license dar.

Different hardware and different operating systems and networks need to be considered, for example in the detection of installed software. In the collection of licenses often missing processes, regulated licenses and structured way. Responsibilities need to be clarified. In the structure of the database, especially the picture of the organizational structure with the different levels of business units and cost centers plays a role.

Because of these far-reaching requirements include license management usually also:

• Policies, work instructions and processes
• Clarification and assignment of responsibilities
• Demand planning and procurement
• Commitment by management (in particular, purchasing, IT, Controlling)

Furthermore, part of the license management an accurate viewing and structuring of existing licenses - contract management. Software contracts offer a wealth of opportunities (eg information on until when the update is free ), but also risks for the company. Within the contract management, these data ( also in a database usually ) was added and thus made accessible to the general planning.

Depending on the size of the company and the variety of software products used and versions may be needed to correct and economical implementation of a software license management, the use of a special license management software.

Purpose of license management

• Predictable and the business purpose adequately scalable licensing costs on the part of the licensee.
• Simplified installation and maintenance of systems, provided that the Licensor provides other software versions.
• Accounting for the license "reserves" to reduce license over-or under - coverage and the value for the accounting for the company to measure (for example in fixed assets).
• Reduced risk for management by non- conforming license installations.
• Conscious use of the resource software leads to a need for more equitable distribution of the software shelfware ( unused software ) is avoided.
• Financial and tax issues: Not only the processes of demand planning, procurement, management of licenses, data acquisition and licensing balance sheet are to be considered within an overall concept of an enterprise-wide license management and design, but also the financial and tax issues.
• To book, for example, few companies or uninstall any software scrapped from their investment portfolios from. Thus, a higher overall inventory balance is carried and taxed than is actually available.
• In addition, aspects of tax policy on the resale of software noted particularly between related, but economically independent businesses. This is generally true of the arm's length principle: Transactions between related companies are to be designed for "used" software as they came under the conditions of the free market into existence. So there must be added a certain premium to the license price.