Accounting for Licenses: How to Set the Order in the Software

This article is devoted to the accounting of software licenses in organizations of different scale. Because it does not matter how many computers are in your office or at the enterprise - 5 or 5000 - in the work of the organization the software plays no less important role than the hardware, and requires the same close attention from the management.

In addition, there is also the well-known article # 146 of the Criminal Code, which punishes users of unlicensed or hacked software. We will not raise the topic of who is responsible for its use in the enterprise: the head, the head of the IT department or the end user. But to monitor the software used in the company, it is still necessary for the system administrator. And this includes the constant recording and monitoring of user-installed software, the accounting of licenses of already installed software, timely updates, etc. You can, of course, forbid users to install the software on their own computers, but remember, did you often follow foreign restrictions yourself? Yes, and still can not keep track of even a few dozen users, not to mention the thousands.

So how do you put things in order in the software of your company, ensure that the licenses of the software you use are kept constantly and keep it installed in a rigid framework?

First: You need to make an inventory of all the software installed in your entire organization (I will not talk here about how to do it most effectively, this is a separate conversation not on one page). As a result of this procedure, you should have a summary table of all the programs installed on each computer: what, where and when it was installed, it is desirable to know who (if the computer, for example, uses several people). In the same table, there should be a separate column dedicated to accounting for the licenses of all the software available in the organization. For software that has appropriate licenses, you should always have at your fingertips purchase documents, certificates, license agreements, boxes, checks, etc.

Second: What to do with commercial software that does not have a license? The license accounting policy requires the removal of any software, if it is not necessary for the employee to perform the duties assigned to him. Well, if the software is necessary, the issue of its purchase should be decided by the manager and as soon as possible, here the delay is unacceptable.

But do not think that after the inventory of software and "cleaning" of the corporate network from unlicensed software, the accounting for licenses is completed and you can relax. Users are like children who sincerely believe that the teacher does not see everything happening behind the last desks. I can say with absolute certainty that, having failed the superiors and the sysadmin and sitting quietly for a couple of days, for a maximum of weeks, exclusively at work, the users will begin to relax and, thinking that the storm has passed and everything has returned to normal, will continue in the same spirit. Those. Again start downloading from the Internet or bringing from home on removable media dubious software. Continuous accounting of licenses and software should hinder all this. Knowing about the violation, you can remove it. Therefore, it is so important to always be aware of.

Here we have come to the main question: why do we need constant accounting of licenses and software in general? I answer:

1. Accounting licenses helps to maintain the purity of your company's software. For what? I refer to Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on violation of copyright and related rights.

2. Accounting for licenses and software helps save on the purchase of new software. I think you have repeatedly faced with the fact that you bought something that already exists, but it was somewhere lying around, lost, not caught in time on the eyes, etc.

3. Accounting licenses allows you to keep all software updated in accordance with the requirements of the workflow, as well as, in a timely manner, renew license agreements.

4. License accounting helps you plan future software costs.

The reasons for the need to register licenses can be listed indefinitely. We will focus only on four points, they should be enough to understand how the constant registration of licenses can make life easier for the system administrator and the head, or maybe to get rid of troubles.