Complex and highly interpretive, software audits are like an evil spirit that can cast a gloomy shadow on any organization’s profitability and reputation. However, as CIOs and IT specialists, you would know that if your company licenses any software, it is only a matter of time before the vendor sends you an audit notification. Larger players, such as Microsoft, SAP, Adobe, IBM and Oracle are known to send out frequent audit requests to their customers. In fact, given the surge in the use of multiple technologies and hybrid environments, many of these companies see software audits as a mainstream revenue generation mechanism.

Working in the software industry can mean navigating a veritable minefield of licensed materials and products. Unexpected software audits come with the territory and can result in substantial financial losses. An audit is designed to discover companies that are working with unlicensed materials. This isn’t always a result of piracy, but sometimes happens when licenses are incomplete or simply outdated.