Software License Management with Network Inventory Advisor

An increasing number of organizations are asking themselves whether they would be ready for an imminent software license audit. Their answers depend mostly on whether they already have an effective software license management solution in place or whether they’re just considering implementing one as a way how to comply with software license agreements.

What Is Software License Tracking

The majority of those in the former camp recommend Network Inventory Advisor as a robust and easy-to-use software license manager and network auditing tool with features that go far beyond the basics. The goal of this article is to introduce software license management as a modern business practice that’s becoming increasingly more necessary for any organization that wants to ensure license compliance and optimize its return on investment from complex technology solutions.

The more reliant organizations become on information technology, the complex their software license management needs get. Modern organizations rely on numerous software solutions from various vendors for anything from accounting to order management to word processing to inventory management to reporting to employee management.

License tracking can quickly become a huge headache and a potential source of problems unless a sound software license management strategy is implemented to stay on top of license expirations and activation limitations.

But software license tracking can be more than just a way how to prepare for a software license audit or how to prevent software licenses from expiring without notice. When used to its fullest potential, software license tracking can help organizations better plan future software purchases and optimize the use of existing software assets.

Organizations who see software license management as an integral part of their overall business strategy are in a much better position to compete on the cramped global market and ultimately rise above their competition.

Embrace Software License Management to Ensure Software License Compliance

The use of a license manager brings many advantages to organizations:
  • Makes software audits less scary and less time-consuming: Not only can software audits be quite scary, but they can also be extremely time-consuming. Ideally, you should be ready for a software audit all the time. A high level of readiness can often only be achieved with proper tools for license tracking and software asset discovery and management, such as Network Inventory Advisor.
  • Optimizes software license purchases: Only when you know exactly which software assets you already own and how they are utilized can you make smart software license purchases. So many organizations waste large sums of money on software solutions that they never fully utilize. What’s worse, the same organizations seldom realize how much money they’re wasting. Software license management exposes organization’s current software asset utilization and reveals sources of waste.
  • Prevents the downtime caused by invalid software licenses: Some software vendors don’t take expired software licenses very kindly. It’s not uncommon for software vendors to prevent customers from using their products the second their licenses expire. To avoid losing revenue because you can’t use the tools you rely on, you should track your software licenses and renew them a long time before they expire.
  • Allows the IT department to focus on other things: Software license tracking can be a time-consuming activity unless one uses the right tool for the job. License tracking is often the responsibility of the IT department, preventing it from focusing on other important things. But regardless of whom the task of managing software licenses falls upon, something that can be easily automated shouldn’t be done manually. Modern software asset management tools such as Network Inventory Advisor can simplify license management to the point where it can be delegated to virtually anyone in the organization.
  • Encourages the management to purchase additional software solutions: When software licenses no longer feel like a burden, the management is encouraged to seek additional software solutions to make established business processes more efficient. This is something everyone in the organization can benefit from, and it’s also something that separates passive organizations from dynamic organizations who embrace change and continuous improvement.

Why Use Network Inventory Advisor as Your Software License Manager

Network Inventory Advisor is a powerful yet easy-to-use software license manager and asset discovery tool capable of tracking software installations across all network-connected computers. Network Inventory Advisor supports all popular software products from over 500 vendors.

With Network Inventory Advisor, it takes just a few clicks to prepare for a software audit thanks to its automated asset discovery capabilities and support for both software and hardware assets as well as standalone assets, such as furniture or printers.

How to Use Network Inventory Advisor to Track Software Licenses

To inventory your software licenses using Network Inventory Advisor, all you need to do is follow a few simple steps:
  1. Download, install, and, launch Network Inventory Advisor.
  2. Input your login name and password to access remote assets in the asset discovery wizard window.
  3. Click on the Start smart scan button to begin the asset discovery process.
  4. Wait until Network Inventory Advisor automatically discovers all hardware and software assets on your network and presents them to you.
  5. Once Network Inventory Advisor finishes the asset discovery process, it will present the results to you in the main application window.
You can then look through your software and hardware assets from a single place, add stand-alone assets manually to include them with all other assets, print detailed reports, and much more. Network Inventory Advisor is ideal for businesses large and small, and it works on both Windows and macOS. The tool is easy to use thanks to its modern user interface, yet Network Inventory Advisor is a suitable solution even for the most complex problems with software licenses.

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