Challenge: A Grown License Landscape Without Full Transparency
A retail company in northern Germany asked us to review its existing license landscape. Over the years, contracts, licensing models and usage rights from various vendors had accumulated. Which licenses were actually needed, whether the existing contracts still matched current usage and how the company would fare in a vendor audit could no longer be fully traced.
The key questions were:
Especially in grown IT environments with many contracts and locations, the overview of license inventory and usage rights is quickly lost.
Solution: Structured License Consulting
As part of our license consulting, we systematically analyzed the customer's existing license landscape. All contracts, license inventories and actual usage were compared and evaluated.
- Analysis of the existing license landscape and all contracts
- Explanation of the actual usage rights per product and contract
- Reconciliation of license inventory and actual usage
- Evaluation of the available contract models and conditions
- Identification of savings potential and compliance risks
The result was a complete picture of the licensing situation – and a reliable basis for all further decisions.
No Costs Due to Under- or Over-Licensing
The analysis showed that some licenses were not used at all or no longer to the intended extent, while elsewhere licenses were missing or incorrectly assigned. By cleaning up the license inventory, over-licensing was eliminated and every case of incorrect licensing was resolved – without any restrictions for the users.
Better Conditions Through the Right Contract Model
Software vendors usually offer several contract and licensing models that differ significantly in term, pricing and flexibility. Based on the usage determined, we recommended the contract model that suited the customer best and supported the transition. The result is significantly better conditions with the same scope of services.
Legal Certainty in Audits Instead of Expensive True-Ups
Vendor audits are not uncommon in the licensing business. Those who cannot prove their usage rights often have to purchase additional licenses at a high price. Thanks to the complete documentation of the license landscape and the clarification of all usage rights, the customer is now prepared for an audit and avoids additional claims.
Results of the License Consulting
The license consulting gave the customer a complete overview of its license landscape and led to lasting savings of more than EUR 400,000 per year.
- Savings of over EUR 400,000 per year
- No costs due to under- or over-licensing
- Better conditions through the right contract model
- Legal certainty in audits instead of expensive true-ups
- Full transparency of license inventory and usage rights
- A reliable basis for future licensing decisions
Partnership Instead of a One-Off Project
For us, license consulting does not end with the final presentation. As a partner, we proactively approach our customers, keep them informed about relevant changes to licensing terms and contract models, and stay in touch through annual reviews. This keeps the license landscape economical and legally compliant – even with growth, new locations or changing requirements.
Conclusion
Professional license consulting pays off: it analyzes the existing license landscape, explains the usage rights and uncovers savings potential. The larger and older the license landscape, the greater the potential usually is.
In this project, cleaning up the license inventory, switching to the right contract model and establishing audit readiness achieved savings of more than EUR 400,000 per year – a result that is repeated year after year.
