Analysing your software compliance

The inventory of acquired rights to licenses and maintenance is an essential step, because it is by comparing these acquired rights with actual installations and usage that the compliance position can be calculated. This inventory consists of grouping together the publisher contracts, annexes and amendments, as well as all the proofs of purchase. The history of these rights can be recreated in order to inform future analysis and optimization (transfers, downgrades, etc.).

To analyse software compliance, it is essential to obtain the most accurate and exhaustive view possible of the actual installation and usage within the organization. Elée’s consultants seek to cover the entire scope of infrastructure, but also to collect all the data necessary for the application of product licensing rules. Such data includes technical architecture, number and nature of processors and cores, information on the virtualization of relevant infrastructure, and the editions and version numbers of installed products.

Effective data collection requires tools. Tools are important to increase the level of automation and save time, but also to have complete and reliable data. Declarative inventories based on the knowledge of the teams are often a source of errors or oversight, leading to heavy fines in the event of an audit. At Elée, we recommend using the same tools as those used by auditors during audits.

To calculate reliable compliance, it is not necessary to be certified by the publisher. You need to have collected reliable data and you need to apply the licensing rules that are publicly available or described in your contracts. In cases that are open to interpretation, Elée helps you defend your position vis-à-vis the publisher, on the basis of concrete cases observed previously. Our compliance calculations are carried out with our own tools specific to each product; these tools are developed, maintained and optimized by our experts over many years. The results are tested every day in the context of counter-audits, they are reliable, and they can be shown to the publisher in the event of an audit (as long as you have not modified your assets since the analysis carried out by Elée).

With each analysis, Elée offers you remediation and optimization recommendations for your licenses. Each action is detailed, and the financial benefits are valued. The consultants carry out simulations of the new compliance after application of the various optimizations. The scope of proposed license optimizations is very broad, including technical, contractual, OPEX / CAPEX, and reduction in maintenance.