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I’m admitting; I do regularly check my Facebook account. And I do know that because it’s a subscription free service I have to live with the occasional advertisements and be aware that all my data is in the hands of an organization that really knows how to make money out of that.
But some time this week, while scrolling through my timeline, I saw that the BSA was advertising on facebook and inviting people to come clean about their employers possible illegal software utilization. So that means that virtually everybody (connected to social media) in the world can peach every organization and hope to make some money of that. I assume (I know I shouldn’t) that people will only do this when they have a very rotten relationship with their employer or are in dire financial straits. I hope that the BSA has a department to thoroughly check on the tips and only in a very clear case come into action.
But I also know from experience that a whole new branche or business can grow from this. I’ve seen businesses that came in deep trouble because of the fact that a systems manager had to leave the company (and wasn’t happy to say the least) and on his last days installed very expensive software on a lot of computers. After a few days he tipped the BSA and they acted as expected: they started the audit process. The outcome actually doesn’t matter. What is important is that you understand that the risks are everywhere!
If you have a solid license management or SAM process you’ld know soon enough about these false installations, but if you don’t…..you’re a sitting duck.
The other thing that amazed me was the fact that the BSA is a non profit organization. I guess that is right somewhere. In a lot of countries the BSA is represented by law firms and if any organization is not a non profit organization it is a law firm in my opinion. And then also not to speak about the supporting members (the big and smaller software publishers) who now are very open that very big parts of their income is from auditing. So I guess that being a non profit organization is far from the main incentive of the BSA.
That’s a nice story Nico, I can hear you thinking. But what does that have to do with me? How can I arm myself against this?
That’s actually quite simple:
Be prepared for any audit : how to…read it here
Have a reliable, effictive License administration and SAM process….how to read it here
Or just have a big audit/war budget year in, year out….
I hope I didn’t trigger too many unhappy employees to start a new business (with the help of the BSA) or income like described above. I know most people are sensible enough not to do it like this. And if some still do, you could have been prepared for it. don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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Nico Blokland
SAM evangelist and implementer.
In his long lasting career he helped out (and still does) numerous organizations before , during and after software audits to get the best result possible against the minimal costs. Currently he’s sharing his knowledge and expertise to help organizations in being ready for each software audit. In2SAM has a portfolio and experts that can help you with nearly all issues on IT & Software Asset management. Challenge them, you’ll be surprised.