Software audits

A software audit is a check of the software installed on the computers an organisation owns. It compares what is actually on each machine with what the organisation believes should be there, and anything that does not match is put right.

Software audits and monitoring are how an acceptable software policy is enforced. The policy states the rules, but only an audit shows whether they are really being followed, because nobody can know by memory what is sitting on hundreds of machines. Monitoring software does the same job automatically by logging what each computer holds, so an audit does not have to rely on someone checking every machine by hand.

What an audit checks

An audit is not just a licence count. It checks four things:

Check	Question it answers	Why it matters
Correct installation	Are the functions staff need switched on, and the rest switched off?	Staff can do their job, and unused functions cannot be misused.
Legal	Has a licence been bought for every copy found?	Unlicensed software can lead to fines and legal action.
Sufficient	Are there too many copies, or too few?	Too few stops people working; too many wastes money.
Cost-effective	Would a cheaper package do the same job?	The budget goes where it is really needed.

Imagine a chain of six garden centres runs an audit. It finds the automatic ordering tool in the stock program switched on for all staff, though only the manager orders stock, so it is switched off for everyone else. It finds the stock program on 40 computers when only 28 tills run it, so 12 licences are dropped at renewal. It finds a laptop with a drawing package nobody bought a licence for, so that copy is removed. It finds two anti-virus products installed side by side, each paid for yearly, so the second subscription is cancelled.

Each finding saves money or keeps the organisation within the law, which is what the acceptable software policy is trying to achieve.

What an audit checks

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