You can see that in recent years small and medium enterprises have increasingly involved in mergers and acquisition. According to a recent study of PWC, only the month of March this year had a number 19% higher compared to the same period of 2014. This can be seen in all sectors as a positive sign, as this process accelerates the development of business and It provides a considerable expansion of the companies involved. In a merger, two or more companies are united in a corporate action, ie two or more companies become a new commercial company.
Meanwhile, in the acquisition, a company becomes partially or totally controlled by another that takes. Enter into a merger or acquisition is a major step and a sign that the business is thriving, though this can also be a complicated action which requires several points of attention. Often used is the “due diligence” (audit), which is a procedure commonly adopted by companies before merger and acquisition operations. They are generally considered legal, financial and operational aspects, seeking an overview of the company being acquired and the identification of possible business risks.
One of the points that deserve attention in the merger or acquisition process is regarding software licensing, since it involves most of the above mentioned aspects. However, often the analysis of these assets does not receive due attention, which can become a serious problem in the future. All businesses depend on software licensed to operate your business, regardless of the area in which to act. The misuse of software licenses in these cases, can even generate breach of contract and stop or delay the unification process.
The use of regular and appropriate software generates significant financial, operational and legal impacts for companies . On the other hand, a company that uses an irregular program at high risk for their safety, leaving vulnerable their data and information, including your customers. In addition, demand more hours of work resulting from crashes that software pirates usually generate, and is exposed to legal risks, including accountability of executives for breach of copyright, and financial losses, fines can reach 3000 times the amount of software used illegally.
All of these consequences are also applied to the successor company business, either by merger or acquisition. An excellent way to start the analysis of software assets is the realization of a mapping process permits and compliance verification. Analyses of used licenses should focus mainly on the existence of installed irregular licenses; licenses activated beyond that permitted by the use of contract; expired contracts and there is a need of renovation; licenses of the same contract allocated to more than one area, requiring hold its division; and finally, check if the license use agreement requires developer’s consent to the transfer of licenses.
Although the audit is typically conducted by the buyer, it is interesting that the seller seeks to conduct asset management software as a prior and continuous process, that is, as part of the business routine. Thus, by identifying previously possible contingencies, the seller can determine the action plan, take action to correct and prevent events related to software devalue your company or even prevent any merger or acquisition.
The continuous monitoring also It enables effective management of these assets, such as the reallocation of licenses as actual needs of each area of the company, optimizing these resources. In addition, actions such as renewal of contracts and authorization for transfer of assets can be taken in advance.
A company with regulated software and especially with implemented software asset management process, certainly present less risk for buyers and therefore higher market value. This shows how important it is that entrepreneurs do not forget that point in time to expand their business through a merger or acquisition.
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