Tag Archives: «microsoft audit»

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

The Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) is Microsoft’s preferred licensing option for businesses wanting to use Microsoft products in support of hosted software solutions made available to end users over the Internet. For many companies, SPLA is a good fit, in that ......

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 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:

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......

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 audits – especially for larger companies – often are resource-intensive and exhausting undertakings even for the most well prepared IT teams. However, certain aspects of such audits often present more challenges than others. In our experience, the most difficul......

The Business Software Alliance (“BSA”) and Software Industry & Information Association (“SIIA”) work on behalf of their members (the lists of which include Microsoft (for the BSA), Adobe, and Autodesk, among others) to enforce copyrights and the terms of end user......

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 complia......