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Audit Management
Don't engage in a software audit until you've spoken to a SAM expert from SHI.
Don't engage in a software audit until you've spoken to a SAM expert from SHI.
With software audit activity forecasted to remain on the increase, SHI’s independent licensing experts can help you understand your true exposure and mitigate financial risk, all while minimizing the operational disruption to your organization.
Wherever and however you license your software – on-premises or in the cloud – there is a growing chance that you will be audited by one or more of your software vendors in the next 12 months. SHI's expert team of 80+ ITAM and SAM professionals are here to help reduce both the cost and disruption caused by software audits. They operate independently of software publishers, offering you impartial advice and focusing solely on representing your best interests at all times.
Talk to an ITAM Expert at SHI.
Audit Management three-step process:
Whether you're managing an audit against IBM, Microsoft, Oracle or SAP (or indeed many other software publishers), SHI's three-step approach keeps the software audit management program both simple and effective:
Discovery
- ITAM experts from SHI will meet with you to agree on overall goals and desired outcomes
- Usage data (inventory) is collected from existing tools or using SHI's proprietary technologies
- Entitlements and contracts are reviewed and compared against usage
Proposal
- Based on usage vs entitlement, plus an understanding of the vendor’s drivers and methods, SHI’s experts will propose a course of action on how best to meet your desired outcomes
Remediation
- Our Audit Management experts will work with you to ensure that your licenses are optimized and correctly assigned based on consumption
- We will act as an intermediary to manage requests for inventory and consumption data
- Our team will represent your best interests and use their knowledge of the vendor’s licensing schemes to arrive at the best financial agreement
- We will help you negotiate post-audit contracts best suited for your environment and can even contact publishers directly on your behalf
Benefits of Audit Management with SHI
SHI saved customers $800M+ in audit risk in 2020 alone
Our team has successfully managed hundreds of audits
We have former auditors on staff who know licensing inside out
We provide the necessary SAM technologies so you can better understand your environment
Our experts know what a good outcome looks like and will get you the best deal
Effective audit management reduces the likelihood of future audit requests
When do you need Audit Management services?
Audit Management shouldn’t start when you receive an audit notice from the software publisher. The best approach to identifying and minimizing cost and disruption is to take a proactive stance and regularly assess your audit risk.
Best practice is to incorporate periodic risk reviews of your Software Asset Management program (all SAM Managed Services from SHI include a regular risk profile analysis) to help focus efforts and prioritize vendors or applications.
If you don’t have a proactive SAM program, we recommend a regular risk assessment at six-month intervals (at minimum) to identify potential warning signs of an impending audit and minimize disruption to the business when an audit is initiated.
Received an Audit Notification? Here's what you do first:
It’s not a matter of if, but rather of when you get an audit notification. So, when that time comes, don’t hide your head in the sand or pretend you’re not home. Your immediate action plan should be:
- Notify your legal and leadership teams.
They need to know and will support you in getting the resources you need to respond effectively. - Reply to the publisher.
Acknowledge receipt and tell them you will come back with suggested next steps in a week or less. -
Our team will take you through the three-step plan above and ensure your audit experience is as painless as possible.
Software Audit Management Successes
Here are just a few examples of how the IT Asset Management team has helped organizations like yours successfully manage software vendor audits:
