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Miro Consulting (www.miroconsulting.com) has provided advisory services to Oracle and Microsoft clients needing assistance in managing the fundamental changes in their software licensing assets. This highly successful consulting practice has negotia
Recent Posts Tagged With 'software compliance'
Big problems with licensing in the UK
Businesses in the U.S. aren’t the only ones suffering, according to a new study, less than half of UK businesses believe their software is correctly licensed. An overwhelming 71% of those businesses admitted to having licensing problems in the ...
Why you need SAM
Software Asset Management is an important aspect of business operations, but some management teams are apprehensive about making a change either because they fear unexpected costs from implementation or the inability to understand that SAM will save ...
Have you seen us lately?
We’ve been included in some great articles in the media lately. Not that the articles are great because we’re in them, but because the articles are worth the read (with or without our commentary). They are very helpful pieces about licens...
Starting from scratch
One of the most complicated aspects of negotiating a software licensing contract is when an organization has no precedent to follow. Perhaps they are purchasing volume licensing for the first time, or working with a new vendor, but when there is noth...
Two more victims of the BSA
We have been giving many examples of companies that had to shell out to vendors after being audited and caught by the BSA. Most of them have been overseas so it didn’t hit as close to home as these next two examples will: Mueller Services, Inc....
What do I do with unused licenses?
Many organizations purchase licensing for planning and development that don’t actually get used and were not needed in the first place. The question is, can they go back to the vendor and “return” them? The short answer is yes; the ...
We’re all going mobile!
It’s no secret that the world is going mobile. With devices like the iPhone and Blackberry that have as much functionality as a laptop computer, workers are working from anywhere and everywhere, on the bus, on planes, from the park, etc. The qu...
Six steps to SAM
Software asset management (SAM) doesn’t have to be a daunting process. It can be very simple and rewarding if implemented properly. Here are six necessary steps to a successful SAM program (tongue twister eh?): 1. Know and understand yo...
Proactive Auditing: Software compliance
I wouldn’t have said it better myself…....
News: Oracle Holding Firm on License Discounts
Yesterday’s Open Q&A Forum on Oracle licensing, audit and procurement was very much a success. Chris Kanaracus (@chriskanaracus) did a great condensed summary on one of the points being made – what’s happening during Oracle discussions. ...
Software compliance: You ought to be in pictures
Couldn’t have said it better myself....
Good time for companies to consider reviewing SLAs
The ending of a financial quarter or year-end have been traditionally good times to review and re-up software licensing agreements. Though not always the case, it is still a time when many SLAs are reviewed and discussed between the corporate enter...
7 reasons to take contract lifecycle management seriously
If you’re saying “huh?”, that’s not a good sign. Contract lifecycle management - similar in nature to software asset management and is, in fact, part of SAM - is the practice of managing a software license agreement contract ...
The BSA nabs a couple more
This time the poor saps were XMCO Inc., based in Michigan. They paid out $70,000 in a settlement for unlicensed copies of Adobe, Corel and Microsoft products. On top of the 70K, they agreed to delete all unlicensed copies of software on theircomputer...
Understand, Review and Manage Your Software Assets
New compliance and accounting regulations are forcing organizations to rethink how they view software. The emphasis on governance is changing the way companies think about software as an asset and how they account for it with their auditors. Unlicens...
Compliance: The Foundation for Working with Oracle
Companies tend to forget that compliance is the foundation for working with Oracle and it is also the base for creating cost efficiencies. It’s understandable as IT folks are more focused on how Oracle’s app will solve a problem for them....
We’re Gonna Getcha, Sucka!
We are always talking on this blog about the BSA and the importance of software licensing compliance. Most people (you can substitute the word “people” with “company”) probably think that this is something that would never h...
BSA hits Thailand
Ecotec - Economic and Technical Crimes Suppression Division - in Thailand has been urged to crackdown on software piracy by the BSA. It’s not just here in the states that audits are on the rise, but overseas companies are feeling it too. The cr...
Piracy Hurts Everyone
Software piracy is not just about downloading illegal software, getting it “for free” from a friend or installing counterfeit software. It’s more than that. Piracy is about stealing intellectual property. And, software licensing at the enterpri...
We’re on ZDNet: Software Licensing Strategies Revealed
Our very own Eliot Arlo Colon, president of Miro Consulting, talks to ZDNet Editor Sam Diaz about about Oracle software licensing agreements....
Software License Compliance: Myth vs. Reality
I was recently invited to lend my expertise on software license compliance on the ECT News Network. Go to http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/64465.html to read my Software License Compliance: Myth vs. Reality article....
The BSA has been busy!
In the last month the BSA has publicized 4 separate settlements resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars: 1. A Georgia woman was fined $250,000 for selling counterfeit software on eBay. 2. Argus Technical Services of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and T...
BSA – Harassers?
We recently blogged about two UK companies - RedPC and Overclockers - getting in trouble with the BSA over alleged software piracy. CRN in the UK recently wrote a follow-up story to the original news report about the BSA’s aggressive procedures...
BSA spends the big bucks
They aren’t joking around - Forbes.com reported today that the BSA spent $360,000 in the second quarter to lobby on patent reform, data security and other issues. They lobbied on new legislation that would create a “new coordinator for in...
BSA Piracy Study
The BSA has put out their 2007 Piracy Study, which has revealed Software piracy in just 8 states in the US (AZ, CA, FL, IL, NV, NY, OH, TX) cost vendors an estimated $4.2 billion, which is higher than the national figure for all other countries in ...
Software asset management results in cost efficiencies
We talk on this blog all the time about how you really need to keep your software licensing in check and how much it can save by just simply managing software assets - well here is proof! ComputerWeekly wrote up a case study about racing venue Silver...
BSA gets 4 more…
The BSA has gotten four more companies in the UK - so called “pirates” - and reached out of court settlements with them. Blitz Corporation, Genetics of Ludlow, Sheffield-based MTL Group and Modular UK all reached settlements described by ...
Microsoft Enterprise Agreements
Enterprise Subscription Agreements are typically for businesses with a need to standardize their Microsoft software and with a minimum of 250 PCs. What are the benefits? Some of the benefits include: savings for a 3-year agreement and included softwa...
2 out of 3 IT Executives Believe they Would Fail a software audit
A new study from the management appliance company reveals nearly two thirds of IT executives believe their companies have not taken the right steps to assure that their licensing is in compliance and are unprepared for a software audit. They surve...
Week in Review (Around the World): Software Licensing and Compliance
In the News This Week · InformationWeek The licensing policy for Windows Vista lets customers downgrade it … Referring to Microsoft licensing policies that allow customers who purchase an operating system to legally install predeces...
