Overlooking Your Software Licenses Can Be a Costly Error

If you’re like every other business in the world, you rely on a set of software solutions that you use to ensure that all work gets done properly in your office. In order to effectively use this software, though, users have to purchase a software license, an agreement with the developers pertaining to the use of the software. Without having the proper licensing, your business can no longer access mission-critical applications, which could result in downtime and other risks to your infrastructure.

The Risks Involved
Since renewing software licensing is so crucial to the continued success of your business, you should be aware of the risks of not renewing your software licenses promptly. Here are three of the biggest problems that can come from not keeping track of your business’s software licenses.

• Downtime: The first thing you’ll notice about failing to renew your software licensing is that the applications will be available one moment, and then unavailable the next. This can be troublesome if your business is on a strict deadline for a project. If the software required to complete the project is suddenly unavailable, how can you keep operations moving forward? Waiting for this problem to be solved can kill your business’s momentum and grind progress to a halt.
• Shadow IT: If your team is getting frustrated from a discontinued access to certain software solutions, it’s likely that they will try to find a solution to the problem themselves by searching for free software online. The problem here is that this software isn’t approved by IT, and this lack of oversight can have dire consequences. Some free online software will come with malware or adware attached, which could lead to a potential data breach if left unchecked.
• Legal repercussions: If your team does find a cheap version of the software they need, chances are that a “discounted” or “free” version of any major brand software, like Microsoft, probably isn’t legitimate. Risking your company’s future by giving your team a reason to find workarounds for software licenses isn’t the right way to do things. You shouldn’t have to rely on potentially illegal ways of acquiring software to get around software licensing. If your team is found to be using a version of a particular software without a software license agreement, you could be subject to nasty fines and audits that could break your budget.

If your business is having trouble managing its software licenses, we would be more than happy to help. With our remote management and maintenance solutions, we can keep track of updates to your business’s crucial systems, and we can keep an eye on your software license renewal process to ensure that it happens without a hitch. To learn more, give us a call at (217) 428-6449.