Auto parts retailer reduces Microsoft audit exposure risk thanks to SHI’s ITAM services

With a Microsoft licensing audit looming, an SHI customer began to panic; they had not kept diligent records of their software purchases over the years.

Challenge:

When an auto parts retailer with over 5,000 locations was notified that Microsoft would be auditing their software licensing purchases in just one month, they turned to SHI for help. They needed to track down device licenses, entitlements, and proof of purchase records for all Microsoft software, and they didn’t have the internal resources required to properly prepare.

Solution:

To review the customer’s assets and evaluate their software landscape and compliance position, our ITAM team offered up our own Audit Defense services. Our team’s three-step process includes discovery, proposal, and remediation phases, and we’ve helped hundreds of customers prepare for audits.

Using JDisc — an agentless network discovery and IT inventory tool – we helped the customer identify and understand their software entitlements, provided them with an accurate view of their software deployments, and highlighted their compliance risks.

We then leveraged our ITAM platform to normalize the aggregate data, which revealed an initial compliance exposure of $3.5 million.

With the clock ticking towards the audit, SHI worked in tandem with the customer to locate most of the licensing purchase records they were missing, reducing the shortfall to $500,000.

Outcome:

SHI’s efforts slashed the customer’s potential Microsoft audit bill by $3 million, helping the customer mitigate their risk while also providing them with complete visibility and insight into their software licenses, usage, and rights.

By identifying their licensing shortfalls prior to the scheduled audit, we enabled the customer to successfully reconcile the gaps and become compliant.

SHI has since helped the retailer with the procurement, configuration, and kitting of HP hardware.