The software licensing in a company or organization is quite a large expense of the organizations computerization budget. These costs can reach up to 20% of the whole IT expense account. Every organization is required to ensure that all the licensing within the group is organized and will not lead to the breaking of the law.
So how can you cut down on costs?
Softense is a marketing representative of hundreds of different manufacturers in the software field, and provides service to hundreds of clients. This allows Softense to receive wholesale quantity discounts. As Softense clients, you are eligible to enjoy this discount as well as convenient credit conditions rather than having to pay in cash when purchasing directly from the manufacturer.
We estimate that after the correct research and planning of software licensing and purchasing through Softense, you will be able to save between 5% and up to 25% on your costs and sometimes even more. The planning is a complex process that requires broad knowledge due to the multiple players and licensing complexities of each manufacturer.
The purchase of a software license is different from other products since:
• Software licensing provides the buyer with the rights to use the software but he has no purchasing rights on the software itself.
• Every existing manufacturer / software has an “End User License Agreement” (EULA) where all the rights of use are listed for that software. For example: Where it may be used? Who may use it? How many people can use it? How to use it? Etc.
Licensing software has several models, such as:
1. Perpetual Licensing — One time purchase of the license that allows the use of the software for an unlimited amount of time.
This model sometimes requires additional maintenance that can be purchased, in order to receive ongoing software upgrades or purchasing upgrades for progressive versions.
2. Subscription Licensing – The purchase of an annual subscription (sometimes monthly) that allows the use of the license in the desired period. Purchasing it in this way, guarantees that you get all the upgrades during your subscription and normally includes ongoing support as well.
3. OEM Licensing – The purchase of the software in order to implement it into your products or software, as well as permission to resell it as part of your final product. Softense specializes in managing negotiations with the manufacturers in order to fit the license to the client.
In addition, there seems to be a trend lately of transferring from the Perpetual licensing model to the Subscription model. This has caused some issues to arise. Such as: The time allocation and resources needed to manage the renewal of the licenses. Those subscribing need to constantly monitor all year round. Every organization has a large number of licenses from different suppliers that have been purchased throughout the year. These Subscription licenses need to be renewed exactly on the day of the year before as well as the Perpetual licenses that need upgrading from time to time. This change requires coordination of the amount of licenses to be purchased.
Software licensing has become more complicated over the last few years. The advancements of the “Cloud” generation, accessibility to different places simultaneously, virtualization and mobility, are all part of the trends that are making software licensing more complex.
For the best possible way to deal with the whole licensing issue as well as to save time and money, the organization needs to be aware of the complexity of licensing and its consequences, and especially aware of the possible results, for example: harming the work sequence and unnecessary expenses due to not renewing the licenses on time, an incomplete license due to the lack of correct allocation of the permissions on the license, inconsistency between the type of license purchased and the needs of the organization etc.
This is where Softense LTD enters the picture. Our task is compiled of three main parts: Suitability of the license, Purchasing the license and Managing the license.
Suitability of the license starts by understanding your organization’s IT requirements and choosing the suitable license. After choosing the right license, Softense purchases it for you and provides it in the shortest time possible. Once the license has been provided to you, we make sure to manage the entire array of the licensing, including: the renewal of the license before it expires, updating the new versions and upgrades, purchasing additional licenses as needed and creating the correct consolidations for your organization, and anything else needed in this arena.
Purchasing software through Softense, guarantees you get the right license at the right price.