Organizations spend a fortune on software licenses every year, and a lack of management around it can result in heavy fines. This policy will help you establish guidelines to make sure you’re in compliance and that any audits will be painless.

From the policy:

Staying in compliance with software licenses can be quite difficult. End users have a reputation for being cavalier with copying software, while certain software vendors have a tendency to change license terms with minimal advance notice.

In the interest of avoiding a painful and possibly expensive audit process, having a standardized and well-documented practice for handling software license compliance is vital. The process outlined in this policy will guide the office of the chief information officer and other stakeholders in ensuring software is not installed on client devices in excess of the terms of the software license and that hardware and software changes are documented, so the organization remains in compliance.

PURPOSE
This policy provides guidelines for making sure the software on computers and other devices owned by the organization is used within the terms of the license provided by the software vendor.

SCOPE
All full-time and part-time employees, contract workers, consultants and temporary workers are subject to this policy. It applies to any device — whether employee-owned, company-owned or company-leased — used for company purposes, including but not limited to desktops, laptops, servers, mobile devices, tablets, printers, scanners, copiers, fax machines, routers and managed switches.