Efficient software license management could save South African graphic arts and print companies thousands – if not millions – of rand. This is the view of Dewald Rosema of Exell Technologies, a Pretoria-based company that provides total IT solutions to the printing industry.
“Too many companies out there do not understand the added value of proper licensing and maintenance programs offered by software publishers,” says Rosema.
“They don't realise that costs can be controlled and that they can get better value from their software purchases – it's no good if software purchases don't match the actual requirement of the business and future usage thereof. Thousands of rand is lost by the incorrect purchasing and lack of control.
“With the backing of Adobe SA and other software distributors, Exell Technologies is now planning to assist the graphic art and printing industry in ensuring that they have the best suited software licensing management solution,” he adds.
Exell Technologies advocates the replacement of the ”box license” - or products bought off the shelf – with the “paper license” which may only be purchased from authorised software resellers.
“Exell Technologies has been in extensive discussions with Adobe Systems South Africa and other software distributors to ensure we have a very clear understanding of the best principles of software licensing and management,” says Rosema.
“Unique to Exell Technologies, we've also negotiated a special once-off, six-month period offer, that should any company opt to upgrade from a box licensing situation to a paper licensing system, Exell Technologies will take responsibility of all legal CDs with accompanying serial numbers and obtain a legal written letter providing proof of the original licenses,” he adds. “The problem with box licensing strategies is the fact that you must be in possession of the physical medium, i.e. original CD and serial number. This adds to extra headaches for administration and safe keeping of expensive software licensing, which will not be required with such a letter,” Dewald continues.
Companies will no longer have to incur costs of insuring their CDs, nor will they have to find extra storage space and control methods – they will simply file or scan the original software license document and use the internet service to keep track of and store license information.
Software license management will also help to stamp out the use of illegal software.
“A company may be unaware that it is breaking a license agreement and it could suddenly incur expensive litigation costs and penalties – software license management helps to prevent pirated software,” Rosema explains.
“Most companies don't have a software policy in place and software auditing is often irregular – sometimes it doesn't take place at all,” he notes.
“Good software license management is essential for all companies because it will ensure not only compliance but will also save money by making sure only the necessary software is purchased or put forward for upgrade.
“As each organisation is different, Exell Technologies will ensure the best option and software management option is selected for your organisation. If your organisation has two or more box licenses that are due for upgrade, make sure you give us a call first. Don't just buy a box, invest in a license solution,” he concludes.
Visit our PRESS OFFICE: Specialising in software licensing and workflow consulting, mainly focusing on production process automation and supplying all required software and hardware platforms such as Adobe, Quark, MAC and more...- more....
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