Before we start on this topic, there is one point I need to make. Take my following word as a guide only, and seek advice before acting, as this is a complex area. I make no claim to be an expert; I will act as a guide to provoke some thoughts.
Operating systems
Excluding Open Source software, this is an area where confusion over licensing can creep in as it is unnecessarily complex. Here are some basic points to help you with your understanding :-
- There are several versions of licensing available for a single product like Windows 7
New PC's can be delivered with Windows pre-installed - often known as OEM. This is generally the cheapest way to purchase. You will not be supplied with DVD's of the software, just a license key. Full versions are available, but generally at up to a 100% cost premium
Student / academic copies are sometimes provided, but their deployment is strictly for their intended use - either at home or educational institutions for the primary use of students
‘Home' versions of Windows and other software are often supplied, especially in lower cost equipment. Whilst this operating system will work, it generally cannot be deployed in a business network and it may not be fully featured
Many operating systems and other software, including Windows, are sold as a license to use, but that right is non-transferrable. When you sell or give away the PC, you must remove the operating system (or software) from the unit and the buyer must purchase their own ‘license to use' !
Desktop software
Whether we are discussing Microsoft or other leading brands, many of the above points apply. In particular, it is cheaper to by ‘bundled' software (OEM) when the unit is supplied and you only get a license to operate - you do not own the software. See the ‘Open source' section below, as the potential savings can be significant over 5 or more PC's / notebooks.
Site licenses
Another form of licenses used is that of ‘site licenses' or ‘per seat' licenses. This applies to products like anti-virus where it is possible to buy say 10 licenses and they are not directly linked to a User or a computer. There are quite a few twists and turns here, but the ideal outcome is to only pay for the maximum number which you are using at any point in time. Accounting packages are often sold in this format where you can have a maximum of 5 ‘concurrent' users operating at any one time, although during the day 10 or 15 people may actually use the system.
‘Free' software
There are many, many software products available for free. Of course, there are many, many ‘free' software products that can harm your systems, so the first rule is to only use ‘free' products from a reliable organisation - for example Adobe Reader.
The second, and more subtle, trap is that some excellent software is available with the caveat of ‘free for non-commercial use'. This means it is fine for use at home, but should not be used in a commercial environment. However, it is often the case that for a very small licence fee, the product can be purchased and deployed in your environment. If in doubt - read the fine print, it will explain the terms of use.
Open Source
If you don't like paying for desktop software such as word processing & spreadsheets, you might like to try some free software. The software which I would recommend (although there are other similar products), is IBM's Lotus Symphony. It is rich in features, can read and write Microsoft documents and can be downloaded and used for free. I find these style of open source products are ideal for normal every day use. They will have some limitation on ‘features' found in equivalent Microsoft suites, but are ideal for day to day use - at the price, you should take a look !
Audit tools
There are a number of legitimate software auditing tools available on the Internet. My suggestion would be ‘Belarc Advisor' - just be careful to use a product that you recognise and not something with some malicious code imbedded. Running this software is a simple task and what it finds on your desktops and laptops might give you a good indication of the need (or not) for relevant business-wide policies.
Policies
To provide some form of protection for the organisation, I strongly recommend the development of corporate policies regarding the use of software. The Internet is full of templates to get you started.
Key items to identify and address would include :-
- Corporate stance on use of ‘Freeware' and ‘Shareware'
- Corporate stance on loading any non Corporate supplied software
- Actions which will be taken if the policies are not adhered to
As always, I am happy to take questions on this article and welcome input in any form.
