Intellectual Property Protection Bolsters Sales

While a majority of solution providers (78 percent) are aware of the problems and are taking proactive steps, many have not yet turned to auditing and protection technologies (72 percent) to ease license and copyright management. That bodes well for integrators looking to sell these products.

Surprisingly, 44 percent of integrators said they don't care what type of licensing is involved, which simplifies the choice of selling per seat vs. concurrent user-based software. But that choice can affect how licenses are audited. Per-seat licensing is easier to track, while concurrent user licenses can offer greater value to customers.

From the data, solution providers can conclude that combining auditing technology with per-seat licensing offers the greatest profit potential. Auditing capabilities can demonstrate the need for additional licenses, and per-seat licensing is driven by the current and future needs of a business. Solution providers can craft a service and sales paradigm around these factors to create a solution that limits liabilities while protecting customers from copyright infringements.

Solution providers have several off-the-shelf options to help customers meet their software compliance needs. Integrators can start with free tools from the Business Software Alliance to begin the auditing process. These tools are available for download at www.bsa.org/usa/antipiracy/Free-Software-Audit-Tools.cfm.

Commercial products offer additional revenue opportunity, since many are subsets of a complete asset-management system. These systems can be used to track and audit both hardware and software usage.

The ROI generated by the auditing process boils down to a few key factors. Software compliance protects companies from fines and litigation, and accurate license management reduces the costs of software upgrades by matching purchases to true business needs. Also, disaster-recovery planning is simplified by addressing only the necessary elements of a disaster- recovery solution, and cost-of-ownership issues can be accurately gauged, which translates to tax deductions. Armed with this information, software licensing and compliance solutions become an easy sell for any solution provider.