Are high software fees and unexpected outages costing your business time and money? Get help with Umbrella’s streamlined license management.
Organizing, managing, and paying for software licenses can be overwhelming, especially if your company lacks a dedicated IT team. What seems like a simple task can escalate into a maze of questions about user numbers, contract lengths and compliance issues. Meanwhile, when you’re busy trying to grow your business, the last thing you need is costly downtime as a result of expired licenses or missed payments. Effective software license management (SLM) can help you combat these issues, leaving you to focus on running your business.
Are you struggling to juggle multiple software licences?
Businesses typically rely on a range of software from different companies. Understanding subscription models and keeping up with payments, updates and compliance can become a time-consuming process.
Leading software companies such as Microsoft traditionally favor a direct bill model, where subscribers procure licenses directly from the provider and pay by credit card or direct debit. In theory this sounds simple, but the reality is that most business owners have little to no expertise in software and licensing. This can make it difficult to figure out which plan represents the best value for money for your company, resulting in incorrect license orders, the procurement of too few or too many licenses, and many other costly mistakes.
Meanwhile, juggling monthly and annual subscription-based licensing models with usage-based models can make it hard to keep track of payments and updates. A lack of oversight can lead to costly downtime due to missed payments or expired credit cards. Losing access to essential programs and IT systems can throw your workplace into chaos, causing staff to become agitated and clients to lose faith in your services. If this all sounds painfully familiar, it might be time to invest in software license management.
What is software licence management?
There are various tools and processes that you can use to manage your software licenses and ensure that your company is complying with the developer’s software license. Software licence management entails gathering information on your company’s software licenses, contracts and usage so that you can understand whether your current set up is as efficient and cost effective as it can be.
If you’re confused about where to start, you could benefit from hiring a Managed IT Service Provider (MSP). As well as handling your day-to-day IT issues and implementing solutions that will help you grow your business, MSPs can create accurate reports on exactly how many employees are using specific software, and how often. They can then use this information to negotiate licence fees and terms with vendors on your behalf. An experienced MSP will also be able to create integrated billing systems that will streamline payments and avoid costly errors and outages.
Although there are various software asset management (SAM) tools that you could use to handle this yourself, most business owners lack the time and expertise needed to secure the most efficient and cost-effective software solutions. Hiring an MSP is a simple and headache-free way to get the most out of your software.
Let Umbrella take the stress out of software license management
Umbrella offers a complete IT solution that leverages technology to your advantage, improving productivity, efficiency, and customer and employee satisfaction. As part of this, we provide streamlined software management to ensure that your software is fit for purpose, up to date, and always running smoothly. We cover all bases, from ensuring you have the correct number of licenses to creating a streamlined payment system that will guarantee you never have to face downtime because of an expired license.
Through strategic partnerships with leading software developers, we are able to offer you the latest tech, while avoiding the headaches associated with licensing, support and liability. As an approved Microsoft partner, we also offer a Microsoft 365 Billing Management service. This means we are able to manage the Microsoft Office 365 license lifecycle on behalf of your organization thanks to our status as an official Microsoft Partnership Indirect Billing Resell Partner. We make it easy by simplifying ordering and provisioning, and consolidating billing to avoid costly errors.
Are you ready to streamline your software licensing process? Start getting proactive with your IT today by contacting Umbrella. Help starts with a zero-obligation conversation.
