Study Unveils the UK’s Licensing Problems
Study Unveils the UK’s Licensing Problems
Less Than Half of Businesses Believe Their Software is Correctly Licensed, Despite 71 Percent Suffering Licensing Problems in the Past
LONDON
October 27, 2009
Independent research has found that almost half of UK organisations (49 per cent) believe their software is correctly licensed, with many wasting thousands of pounds paying for licences they don’t need or risking fines for underpayment.
This data is provided by a study commissioned on behalf of SafeNet, the enterprise security and software rights management provider. It found 26 per cent over-licenced, 12 per cent under-licenced, and 13 per cent were unaware.
According to the report, almost three-quarters of organisations have experienced problems with software licensing in the past. The study found 37 per cent of companies have experienced over-expenditure by paying for more licences than they use, while 29 per cent have experienced downtime as a result of too few licences. Companies also reported experiencing licensing technology malfunction (18 per cent) and fines for under-licensing (7 per cent).
However, 11 per cent or organisations don’t currently monitor software licences in any way - rising to 20 per cent in the public sector. Added to this, almost one third (31 per cent) of organisations are not monitoring licence renewals – and some don’t even recognise the need for this management.
“It’s clear from this study that software licensing in the UK faces the same complexities as companies around the world,” said Chris Holland, vice-president of software rights management at SafeNet. “Despite experiencing problems in the past, very few organisations have a clear, effective policy in place. Many are paying too much or too little, and businesses are suffering as a result.”
Holland continued: “Organisations must be able to prove their software is legitimate, which means having the ability to understand how their licenses have been distributed and that the quantities add up. Failure to do this could end up costing the organisation a fortune in unproductive downtime, fines for illegal use, and negative PR.”
“The solution lies with software vendors,” continued Holland. “Greater communication is needed between the owners of the licence enforcement strategies and their end customers. Companies need to know that tools are available to help them track and monitor licence distribution.”
About the study
This research was conducted by Vanson Bourne in September and October 2009. It surveyed 100 IT directors from UK organisations with more than 2,500 staff, across five main sectors: financial services; retail, transport and distribution; manufacturing; public sector.
About
SafeNet, Inc.
SafeNet is a global leader in information security, founded more than 25 years
ago. The Company protects identities, transactions, communications, data and
software licensing through a full spectrum of encryption technologies,
including hardware, software, and chips. More than 25,000 corporate and
government customers in 100 countries including UBS, Nokia, Fujitsu, Hitachi,
Bank of America, Adobe, Cisco, Microsoft, Samsung, Texas Instruments, the U.S.
Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the U.S. Internal Revenue
Service, trust their security needs to SafeNet. In 2007, SafeNet was acquired
by Vector Capital, a $2 billion private equity firm specializing in the
technology sector. For more information, visit www.safenet-inc.com.
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