Organisations are increasingly being hit by vendor audits after former employees have become whistle-blowers about their use of unlicensed software.
Latest research has shown there has been a 35% increase in activity from software vendors auditing licences, with one in four checks being triggered by finger-pointing employees.
In a sample of 100 senior IT managers, CIOs and IT directors at organisations with at least 250 employees, almost all believe aspects of their software asset management process could be improved.
A quarter of respondents to a survey carried out for software reseller and license management services provider Trustmarque Solutions say fewer online software purchases should be made within their organisation.
Some 62% suggested a need for more consultation between the IT department and procurement head before software licences are purchased.
As many as 50% of IT professionals polled believe their organisations should take greater steps to re-harvest their licences when employees leave or a PC is retired.
On the whole only 17% of organisations are completely sure that if a software vendor were to audit them, they would have the correct amount of licences.
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Commenting on the research results, Scott Haddow, CEO for Trustmarque Solutions said, “With funds scarce in the face of the recession, there is a risk for many companies that they may not be able to match up to vendor scrutiny.”
Earlier research by IDC in October 2008 cited that 52% of all companies had been subject to a vendor audit or review in the past 12 months and that 23% had three or more audits or reviews during that timeframe, indicating that software audits are on the increase as the recession bites.
