5 Mistakes to Avoid When Acquiring Software

Software buying and licensing can be a daunting subject for the uninitiated, but Zac Mutrux, a San Francisco-based technology consultant with years of experience advising nonprofits, did a great job simplifying this subject during our latest TechSoup Talks! webinar, 5 Mistakes to Avoid when Acquiring Software. Below is my paraphrase of his talk:

• Don't Pay Less than You Owe. During tough economic times, it's tempting to "borrow" software for a little while until you have the budget to pay for it. Don't. Microsoft and other vendors do audit organizations, and the price you'll pay in fines and bad PR outweighs the short-term benefits.
• Don't Pay More than You Have to. In other words, don't pay retail for software. Through TechSoup Stock, 501(c)(3) organizations and public libraries are eligible for donations from Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec, Intuit and 35 other software vendors. Zac also discusses several other software donation and discount programs, such as Microsoft Open License for Charities and Adobe Solutions for Nonprofits. You can often receive great deals through these programs when you don't qualify for a TechSoup donation, or you've reached your annual donation limit. Also, when you buy Microsoft products through TechSoup Stock, you receive Software Assurance, which gives you access to two year's worth of free upgrades (as well as access to training and other benefits). In other words, don't buy the next version of Office if you can upgrade for free through Software Assurance. For more information on how this applies to TechSoup donations, read the Microsoft Program FAQ.
• Plan Ahead When you Request Donations. Many donation programs only let you purchase once a year or once every six months. Look ahead. If you're bringing more computers into your system six months from now, it might make sense to buy some extra software licenses as part of your current donation request.
• Don't Assume that Donated Software includes Tech Support. Some donation programs include limited tech support, but most don't. If you don't have the right in-house support, you could easily pay more in tech support calls than you saved by requesting the donation.
• Manage and Track your Software Licenses. It's easy to forget how many licenses you actually own, and how many copies of a particular application you have installed throughout the library. Software asset management can help you track these two numbers and ensure that you're not overlicensed or underlicensed. For more details, see IT Asset Management. 

For more details on the nuances of licensing in general and Microsoft licensing in particular, see Making Sense of Software Licensing. To download Zac's presentation and listen to the webinar recording, visit the webinar archive page.

Photo: banoota