Return to News & Media
Terms of use
Mathieu Baissac argues for usage-based tracking instead of audits to ensure compliance
By Leslie T. O'Neill
For some compliance managers, the notion that they could do away with customer audits forever must be absolutely unthinkable. How would they enforce software entitlements? How would they prevent piracy and protect their company's intellectual property? How would they drive revenue and justify their organization's existence?
Mathieu Baissac has a unique perspective on audits. As the Vice President of Product Management at Flexera Software, the industry's largest provider of software licensing technology, he can see both sides of the compliance coin. At the 2014 IBSMA Compliance Manager Summit, he urged compliance managers to envision a world without audits. He wants to enable a trust-based conversation between software vendor and customer.
Mathieu Baissac, Flexera Software
"Audits aren't the solution," said Baissac. "They're too combative. They're too complex—the vendor's compliance position [can seem] arbitrary. There are questionable wins. Many audits settle for pennies on the dollar and don't win that much money."
"Wouldn't it be better if they bought more software initially?" he asked the conference attendees.
Based on his experience in the field, Baissac explained that many customers think vendors make their contracts confusing on purpose. Furthermore, some of them have become so distrustful—or had so many bad audit experiences—that they believe vendors' licensing models are designed to be too complex for customers to easily follow the rules.
He suggested that customers could be appeased and most compliance problems solved simply by tracking software usage instead of licensing. He challenged software-company compliance managers to start thinking about licensing in a new way.
"What if producers could capture software licensing in a non-threatening, non-intrusive way? Could [it] enable enterprise self-compliance with a 24x7x365 view of usage and entitlements? Could [it] provide a single source of truth of software license compliance for both the enterprise and the producer?" asked Bassaic.
Move from compliance validation to optimizationHe detailed the three steps that are required to move to a usage-tracking model. First, the vendor captures usage data from the customer. Second, the vendor freely shares and compares usage against entitlement with the customer. Third, the vendor can take action to reconcile any overages, such as sending an invoice for additional payment to the customer, as necessary. For this model to work, Bassaic said, producers must simplify licensing models so that they can be measured for true usage and customers must agree to openly share their data.
"This works for customers you want to trust, which might depend on geos. Maybe not China," noted Bassaic. He added that usage tracking would allow customers' software asset managers to "move from compliance validation to optimizing licenses."
Leslie T. O'Neill is a writer based in Pleasanton, CA.
Published by ECP Media LC P.O. Box 1549 | Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106-1549 U.S.A. ECPweb.com | Office and fax: 1.734.930.1925
ECP articles are provided to IBSMA by arrangement with ECPweb.com.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information regarding the subject matter. Neither the publisher nor the author(s) is offering legal, accounting or tax advice. Although care has been exercised and every attempt made to verify the information in this publication, neither the publisher nor the author(s) is responsible for errors or omissions. Neither the publisher nor the author(s) is affiliated with nor endorsed by any organization listed here or by any subsidiary company. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ITIL® is a registered trademark of the United Kingdom's Office of Government Commerce. The Certified by ECPweb.com logo is a licensed trademark of ECP Media. The publication may be printed for personal use. The publication MAY NOT be printed for distribution in a public or private venue (i.e., conferences, trade shows, direct mailing, etc.).
© 2014 ECP Media LC (ECPweb.com) No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or other) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher.
IT IS ILLEGAL TO DISTRIBUTE OR RESELL THIS PUBLICATION IN ANY FORM WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE PUBLISHER. THIS PUBLICATION IS LICENSED FOR PERSONAL USE. IN ADDITION TO LEGAL ACTION, THE ORIGINAL PURCHASER MAY BE CHARGED FOR ALL ILLEGAL COPIES.
