Let’s spend a few minutes looking at something which is tangent to working from home… managing software licenses. Now I’m sure many business managers read that phrase and say “What’s to manage? You buy software and install it!”. End of problem, right?

Not so much. Especially for organizations over 50 machines, license management can become a bit of a bugaboo. And when you hit the magic 50-mark, you also start showing up on the radar of auditing companies.

Here’s why caring can save you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Ever heard of the Business Software Alliance? I have. They’re an organization whose members include Apple, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and many others. Their mandate is to act as advocates for their members, and to take a lead in performing audits of non-member companies to ensure software compliance.

Yes, you heard that right. There is a group out there that will go out and do random audit to make sure your hardware and software license counts are correct and up to date. I’ve been through an audit. Believe me when I say that it’s not pleasant.

Now, let me start off by saying that I think software piracy is a Bad Thing. In business, there’s no need for it. If you think software is too expensive then you and your tech people should look for alternatives.

That said, managing your software licenses really only becomes an issue when you hit 50 computers – below that and you’re often not worth the effort of being audited unless your company is a) high-profile for some reason, or b) reported as being a violator by someone else. It’s also the point where license management can become a bit more complex.

Damages for copyright infringement suits (a.k.a. software piracy) can run to the hundreds of thousands of dollars. And to prevent against this many business managers will automatically institute a 10% rule on their software – they’ll buy an extra 10% of everything they acquire. Buying 100 copies of MS Office? Buy 110, just to be safe, someone might say. The problem is that at $600/ copy that margin of error costs $6000. Plus taxes

Asset management software doesn’t have to be expensive – as with many other classes of software, there are free options available for companies with up to 200 computers. Or if you’re in a larger environment, or need more advanced features, there are several asset management programs that won’t break your budget.

Software purchasing is easy, and decent asset management software can save your hide in several ways. And there’s really no reason to buy extra licenses if your IT people know what they’re doing. So ask them the questions you need to, to be sure that you can rest easy if an audit comes your way.