Research shows that Microsoft audits over 2/3 of businesses yearly for lack of licenses. We offer affordable solutions for senior care organizations.
Cost management is a critical component to a senior care organization’s IT strategy. Vcpi is a thought leader in cost management for assisted nursing and post-acute care organizations. As our customers’ ally in their business growth, we strive to regularly share mission critical industry insights.
Beau Smithback, Chief Information Officer at vcpi discusses our licensing solutions in this webinar:
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What is a Software License?
A software license is a document that provides legally binding guidelines on how software can be used and distributed. In most cases, installing software requires accepting an End User License Agreement (EULA) prior to installation. Most EULAs have contractual provisions that give software manufacturers the right to audit the usage of their software and define remedies when violations are found.
Although software manufacturers themselves usually conduct audits, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) also actively does so. The BSA is a consortium formed by some of the world’s tech giants, such as Microsoft, Apple, and IBM. The BSA actively seeks companies that don’t have software licenses and follows up on software fraud tips that they receive. Microsoft is known for being particularly aggressive in its audits, as 58% of CIOs reported being audited by Microsoft within the last year.
Self-Audit to Identify Compliance Requirements
To minimize risk of a third-party audit, companies should regularly self-audit to ensure they own the appropriate number of software licenses and that software is being used per their EULA terms. In some cases, vcpi can provide flexible licensing rental models that allow users to scale up and down every month as companies acquire and divest facilities.
In addition to monitoring data usage and possessing licensing entitlements, consider these questions:
- What do you own?
- What is deployed?
- Are the right license deployments assigned to real deployments?
Controlling Costs
On average, companies spend about 25% of their total IT budget on enterprise software. With such a large percentage of the budget, vcpi works with clients in various ways to help minimize their software spending and manage overall costs.
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Assist clients with comparing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of licensing models such as open license agreements, enterprise agreements and rental models.
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Leverage increased features and competitive prices on Microsoft Office 365 deployed
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Help determine which employees need what software features to purchase the most economical solution and minimize software deployment
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