Software Asset Management Makes Waves

A program in which partners conduct free software inventories for customers whom Microsoft believes may not be compliant with its licensing rules has had mixed results, including both negative publicity and some positive reaction from customers. The program is part of Microsoft’s ongoing effort to raise the profile of software asset management and generate additional revenue by reducing the incidence of fraudulent or inadvertent underlicensing, but it highlights the need for both Microsoft and its customers to keep accurate records about license purchases.

Software Asset Management Program

About 35% of the software in use worldwide is pirated, ranging from about 23% of the software in use in the United States to 90% of the software in Vietnam, according to a 2005 report by the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

Given that Microsoft software is “the most highly pirated in the world,” according to IDC analyst John Gantz, who assisted with the BSA study, Microsoft has good reason to take a firm hand in tracking down illegal use. The company also sees better license enforcement as an important source of additional revenue.