OIT’s new software audit process ensures licensing compliance

As part of a Financial Futures initiative, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) has developed a software asset management program to support the campus.

One element of this critical work, led by OIT Software Asset Manager Mark Alexander and IT Asset Manager Dan Herrick, is creating an audit response and management procedure for software audits that ensure licensing compliance.

“These audits are becoming increasingly common,” says Angie Naillon, director of finance, planning and asset management. “We’ve had four in the past two years, which is noteworthy given that––to our knowledge––there were none before that in OIT history. These audits pose both financial and reputational risks to the campus if they are not managed well.”

The newly instituted procedure was put to its first test when a vendor recently notified multiple staff on campus in OIT and other units that it intended to conduct an audit––the second within a short window.

Staff quickly notified Alexander, who Naillon says deftly navigated a potentially challenging vendor relationship by confirming the campus’s compliance with the vendor’s licensing terms.

Naillon notes that, not only was the audit closed with no negative financial impact to the campus, but the vendor sent the following message praising the process Mark developed:

“I appreciate that you take compliance seriously and work to proactively maintain your licensing position. I’m sure it’s not just for [our software], but across your various software portfolios.” 

Capturing complete information on the campus’s software portfolio is precisely the intent of software asset management, “and OIT is lucky to have Mark Alexander and Dan Herrick at the helm of this new and exciting service,” Naillon says.