What Is Software Auditing?
The term software auditing may sound a bit scary at first. Most people’s first thought when they hear anything with the word “audit” in it, is that the IRS is going to give them a bunch of trouble over trivial details. In terms of software, however, auditing is basically just another word for “organizing.”
Software auditing is a simple way of ensuring that all of your software is up-to-date, all of your licenses are current, and that none of your devices have unauthorized programs installed on them.
While it may seem a bit unnecessary at first, once your business begins to grow, so will the wide array of software that you use. Before you know it, you could easily have over a hundred different programs for managing everything from clients to keeping track of orders.
At this level, there’s no way that you can stay on top of everything, and eventually you’ll find many of your expensive programs falling through the cracks and suffering from performance issues.
Using A Software License Audit Tool
Thankfully, there is software license audit tool to make the job a lot easier. These tools operate across your entire network to keep track of your software and firmware for computers, tablets, point-of-sale units, printers, and more.
They allow you to keep detailed records of exactly what software is installed on which devices, the software version, and download history. You can also store any of your licenses and codes that you may need for legal reasons to prove that you aren’t using pirated software.
Advantages of Software Auditing
As you can see, software auditing is pretty useful. Let’s take a minute to go a bit more in-depth to the advantages of using these tools, though.
Helps You Stay Legal
One reason why many businesses perform software license compliance audits is to ensure that your website is legaly sound and all of their software is paid-for, and that all of licenses are updated. If you fail to keep your licenses up-to-date, then you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law and illegally using the software simply because you forgot to pay for your annual software license key.
Saves You Money
Sometimes computers fail. They blow up, disintegrate, or just lose their memory. Often when this happens, you’ll lose all of the software that you had installed on the computer. However, if you have proof of the licensing, you can usually get it replaced for free by the software company.
Keeps Sensitive Data Secure
Old programs are notorious for developing security loopholes. Since a good amount of your software programs are designed to manage client information, it’s vital that you keep this information secure. A good software auditing tool makes sure that all programs are up-to-date with the latest security patches.
Better Management, Better Business
At the end of the day, the better you are at keeping your business organized, the better you’ll be able to manage your business. Just as it’s important to keep records of your receipts and expenses, it’s equally important for you to keep track of the software that your business runs on.
