Negotiating Contracts: 12 Key Terms to Negotiate in a Software as a Service or Cloud Service Agreement: Software as a Service and Cloud Service offerings have become ubiquitous digital platforms for many enterprises and small businesses in their quests to provide a single unified platform to their employees and customers. Providers offering Software as a…
Businesses that have endured software audits from industry groups like the BSA and the SIIA or from software publishers like Autodesk likely are familiar with the basic audit process of counting the total number of installations for audited products and comparing those installations against the number of licenses previously purchased to support them. There are…
Virtualization can reduce the number of physical machines required in an environment and have several other benefits, but it can also require an understanding of complex technical and licensing concepts. Failure to properly license the environment can subject the company to unbudgeted licensing and compliance fees. The following list includes several common questions and concerns…
It is not unusual for companies to use virtualization technologies to reduce costs, ensure redundancy, and reduce physical size of the network. Some of these companies are turning to VMware to manage their virtualized environments. Virtualization can involve complex technical and licensing issues. Failure to properly license the environment risks subjecting the company to unbudgeted…
Most Microsoft software products – especially server products – can be licensed under multiple different models and metrics. SQL Server probably is the best example of a product that presents companies with multiple decision layers when analyzing new use cases: • Commercial Hosting or Volume Licensing? Companies need to determine whether a particular use case requires…
Autodesk routinely conducts software audits to determine whether businesses have unlicensed copies of its software installed on their computers. Architecture firms typically represent a significant portion of the targets of such audits – many such firms are heavily reliant on Autodesk software due to Autodesk’s dominance in the market for computer-aided design software and due…
So far this year alone, about 80 companies have been assessed hefty fines—one as high as $201 million—for violating the requirements of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Act. While most were cited for “insufficient technical and organizational measures to ensure information security, others were cited for not complying with general data processing…
More and more businesses are considering accessing hosted software rather than purchasing on-premise software. They are also placing data in third-party public or private clouds instead of selecting on-premise software. This article will explain the key considerations and contractual provisions when deciding to utilize a hosted software cloud solution versus on-premise software solutions. KEY CONSIDERATIONS…
In recent years, many software publishers began using software audits as a means to increase revenue by penalizing customers for perceived compliance issues. Software publishers often conduct direct audits, or audit through companies such as the BSA | The Software Alliance (“BSA”), or the Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”). Although many software users take…
In the universe of software-copyright enforcement programs, Autodesk’s may be the most active and vigorous. All businesses – even those not running Autodesk software – should take steps early and regularly to identify and eliminate any software-compliance gaps associated with Autodesk and other software installations. It is common for businesses owners to be surprised by…
Software as a Service and Cloud Service offerings have become ubiquitous digital platforms for many enterprises and small businesses in their quests to provide a single unified platform to their employees and customers. Providers offering Software as a Service and Cloud Services allow end users to access software and infrastructure remotely from any location and…
This year, IBM announced that it was going to present certain customers with the opportunity to participate in its new IBM Authorized SAM Partner Services (“IASP”). In a recent webinar that it co-presented with KPMG, one of its approved IASP partners, IBM described the opportunity as an “alternative to an IBM audit.” For IBM customers…
Most providers of hosted software solutions traditionally have delivered those solutions over the Internet from their own servers. However, an increasing number of businesses are interested in outsourcing not only their internal-use IT infrastructure but also the systems used to host their client-facing solutions. Doing so may allow a business to focus more on product…
Many businesses have teams of third-party vendors to assist with their business operations or to provide independent services – like software development or website design – that require access to company servers. For Microsoft products like Windows Server that require additive licensing (usually, Client Access Licenses, or CALs) to support all such client access, the…
Many businesses that identify a need to acquire “commercial hosting rights” in connection with hosted solutions incorporating Microsoft software have two options for acquiring them: through a Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) with Microsoft or through the Self-Hosted Application (SHA) benefit that is included with Software Assurance under an Enterprise Agreement or other volume-licensing agreement….
One of the most overlooked sections in a technology-related contract is the insurance section. Whether that contract involves IT services, development, Software as a Service or Cloud Services, the insurance section is just as important as the other risk-allocating provisions contained in the contract. Yet, in most of the contracts in the industry, the original…
The BSA | The Software Alliance (“the BSA”) investigates claims of software copyright infringement behalf of its member software publishers to determine whether any companies end users have unlicensed software installed in violation of The Copyright Act. The BSA has been granted a power of attorney to pursue claims relating to copyright infringement on behalf…
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became effective on May 25, 2018. GDPR is the widest sweeping privacy regulation to hit the global market since the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive. GDPR is a regulation that requires businesses to protect the personal data and privacy of EU residents (EU data subjects). GDPR considers the protection…
Many businesses contact Scott & Scott, LLP regarding Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) audits after providing extensive information to Microsoft’s auditors and receiving compliance demands that would be ruinous for their bottom lines, if paid in full. At that stage, it might be difficult to “un-ring the bell” with respect to the data allegedly underlying…
It is standard practice for software vendors to include clauses in their license agreements giving the vendors the right to invoke audits or some other mechanisms to ensure that the licensed products are used in a way that is consistent with agreed licensing restrictions. Most software consumers would agree – perhaps grudgingly – that such…
