Microsoft’s Auditors Are Not Infallible

Christopher Barnett  Comments (0)
Microsoft licensing is a complex, multi-faceted undertaking, with different rules and license metrics applying to different products. In the context of software audits initiated by Microsoft, it is important to keep in mind the fact that the auditors hired to perform tho......

Preparing for the Inevitable SPLA Audit

Rob Scott  Comments (0)
If your company uses a Microsoft Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA)—and it probably does if Microsoft considers you to be in the commercial hosting business—you will be audited at some point. Typically, Microsoft SPLA customers are audited once every three yea......

What is a Microsoft SPLA Verified Self-Audit?

Rob Scott  Comments (0)
If you provide commercial hosting services using Microsoft’s Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA), you may become a target of an ever-increasing variety of license audits from Microsoft and its vendors.  The latest flavor of a Microsoft SPLA audit is the verified s......

Beware Audit Terms in Microsoft’s New MPSA

Christopher Barnett  Comments (0)
Microsoft is in the process of transitioning many of its volume-licensing customers from the Select Plus Agreement to the new Microsoft Products and Services Agreement (MPSA). (More information on the transition framework is available here.) A notable difference between the......

Microsoft SPLA Audit Look-Back Periods

Christopher Barnett  Comments (0)
In a typical Microsoft audit of software licensed under perpetual licenses, the auditors usually will compare installations of Microsoft products against licenses owned, and Microsoft will require the audited business to purchase additional licenses required to cover any gap......

Microsoft Audit Roadmap

Christopher Barnett  Comments (0)
Microsoft offers an array of software licensing options for its business customers. However, during an audit, the timing and course of the project typically follows a fairly well-worn path: 1. Kickoff meeting At this step, Microsoft’s hired auditors (typically PriceWa......

Beware the Mandatory SAM Engagement

Christopher Barnett  Comments (0)
For several years now, Microsoft has offered some of its customers the “opportunity” to have third-party licensing consultants (selected by Microsoft) review those customers’ Microsoft product deployments and determine whether those customers have all of the licenses n......

SPLA-Audit Exposure Difficult to Estimate

Rob Scott  Comments (0)
One of the first steps we typically recommend to businesses facing software audits from any source is to try to estimate the financial exposure related to those audits. Doing so allows a company to allocate its resources more efficiently and to set aside reserves or make oth......

Microsoft SAM – A Software Audit by Another Name

Rob Scott  Comments (0)
When I heard a Microsoft executive recently explain its new approach to software license compliance enforcement, I couldn’t believe my ears. Statements like, “Microsoft does not endorse audits,” and “Microsoft believes that most of its customers want to be in com......