Resellers risk damaging their reputation over software licensing

Resellers may be damaging their business reputation by offering their customers incomplete advice on software licensing matters, according to FAST Corporate Services.

While the larger VARs have specialist licensing knowledge, others are relying on their broad understanding of IT issues to offer guidance to their customers. This might not be enough to satisfy the complex terms and conditions stipulated by the software providers.

In addition, some of the software auditing tools on the market typically leave the user with thousands of unidentified files that cannot be reconciled easily with software licences.

The advice offered by FAST Corporate Services is simple - partner with an expert and create an in-house licensing 'champion'. This person should take advantage of various vendor support schemes on offer, as well as liaising with bodies such as the Federation Against Software Theft and Business Software Alliance.

"Like GPs who need to seek specialist advice about certain medical conditions, resellers shouldn't be advising customers on certain IT issues if they have not been properly trained. Resellers need to turn to experts to be educated and guided in software licensing and ensure they are kept up-to-date with changes in licensing laws", said Geoff Webster, CEO at FAST Corporate Services.

"Many believe software licensing is an easy task to manage, but as individual pieces of software have different rules and regulations it can become very complex. FAST Corporate Services can offer resellers the opportunity to join as corporate members and ensure that they don't damage their own reputation by offering the wrong advice," concluded Webster.