ROCK BOTTOM LICENSE PRICES!! DON'T BUY HERE!
This blog post has come about after one of my contacts messaged me with the following question. They wish to remain anonymous but are happy for me to share their scenario. Thank you for letting me share your experience and story!
"I have recently moved to the organisation in the position of IT Asset Manager with my primary short-term goal being to look at all of our existing contracts and agreements. Alarm bells started ringing with the overall value of our Microsoft, Adobe & Autodesk agreements.
I'd never heard of the reseller and have since found out that they approached my predecessor with said 'bargain'. The licenses are fake and the software is cracked. Obviously, we sorting this out and the relevant vendors are taking action against the reseller."
The ITAM asked me to provide them with advice on why this might have happened, and what the dangers are when purchasing software from a dodgy reseller.
BACKGROUND CHECK
Whenever you are contacted by a reseller offering you software licenses, the first thing you should do is check who exactly they are. What are their credentials? Who else is a customer of theirs? What relationships do they have with the software vendor?
If you cannot find enough information on the reseller, then I suggest that you consider that their low prices are low for a reason and find a partner or verified reseller for the vendor.
EDUCATING USERS & THE BUSINESS
I like to use analogies or examples from your day-to-day life and I find this works well when educating end users. So, for this one, let me use the old DVD stall example.
Back in the day, before people streamed everything and actually purchased DVDs or Blu-Rays (what's a VHS...?), you'd find yourself walking past a table or stall with a number of the 'latest movies' for sale. They were all pirated copies and terrible recordings from camcorders in the cinema.
If you purchased a copy, you'd find that you wouldn't have the nice box or the awesome quality that you would if you purchased the real thing. Also, selling and buying DVDs in this nature is against the law, so you are non-compliant with FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft. You'll see their logo before films!).
It's pretty much the same with cracked software, just with the added danger of millions in audit fines, viruses and malware being deployed to your machine & and the chance of your corporate data ending up in the wrong hands.
No biggie though right, you've got all that money to spare and you're happy for your organisation data to be shared and seen by anyone...?
What advice would you give to someone who has been approached by a 'reseller' offering rock-bottom prices?
Thank you again to the ITAM Manager for allowing me to share their story. Thankfully, they are now in control of their software contracts and have gone through the right channels for purchasing their software licenses.
Remember, the cheapest option may not always be what it seems. Be vigilant, and be aware!
Director Business Consulting | Software Asset Management (SAM) | ITAM
8 年David you made an interesting point. To add, user communication and process controls are extremely important to avoid entry of such counterfeit licenses in any organization. In my experience, not as much at a corporate procurement level but at individual user level purchase of fake, low-priced licenses through corporate/personal credit cards is very common even in large enterprises. Getting this expense reimbursed is also not very difficult for users because checks and controls are limited.
IT Asset Management - Retired
8 年The example is one of an abject lack of Vendor Management and Procurement discipline. Risk remains a moving target unless this obvious gap in discipline is addressed.
Principal Consultant at Global Logic
8 年Really good example, many things to think about here. Also worth thinking about where the proceeds of the illegal software activities end up and what the cash ends up funding. Thanks for sharing.
Vice President - Deutsche Bank
8 年How did the supplier bypass the procurement due diligence to become an approved supplier ?? Seems the organisation has bigger problems than just ITAM and should review the procurement process and governance !!