Common Licensing Audit Types

Like other software vendors, Microsoft uses audits to check customer license compliance. The accompanying chart summarizes two major types of license compliance checks: a Software Asset Management (SAM) Baseline check and a formal audit.

The assessment (count) of an organization’s use of Microsoft software and the reconciliation of this use against licenses owned to determine shortfalls are generally performed by Microsoft partners. How shortfalls are ultimately remedied is usually a matter of negotiation with Microsoft and not with the partner.

Microsoft’s right to audit is outlined in the “verifying compliance” section of the Microsoft Business and Services Agreement (MBSA). This section outlines a customer’s responsibility to maintain records, cooperate with an independent auditor (or, at Microsoft’s discretion, complete a self-audit process), and pay for any license shortfalls found. It also specifies the level of unlicensed use that triggers both punitive pricing (surcharge over regular contract pricing) and a customer obligation to reimburse Microsoft for costs incurred in compliance verification. Finally, it outlines Microsoft’s responsibility to provide advance notice, use collected information solely for purposes of determining compliance, conduct the verification during normal business hours “in a manner that does not interfere unreasonably with Customer’s operations,” and, if no unlicensed use is found, refrain from conducting another check for at least one year.