Unlock the power of Academic Software for license deprovisioning

When it comes to software licences, most of the attention is paid to their legal procurement and deployment across an institution’s estate. But licence deprovisioning is an equally important part of software licence management.  

What happens to the licences in your institution when, for example, a device has been retired or replaced? Or when a student switches course or even leaves the university entirely? 

In both cases, it is important to deprovision the user’s licences promptly to optimise resource allocation and to maintain IT security. In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of licence deprovisioning and propose a best practice licence deprovisioning process for institutions.  

The importance of deprovisioning 

From our experience of working with education institutions across Europe, there’s five key reasons why efficient licence deprovisioning is so crucial.

1. Cost savings: Universities often have large numbers of software licences and not all are actively used. Deprovisioning unused licences can help universities reduce their IT expenditure and redirect funds towards more critical needs.
2. Legal compliance: Software vendors typically require users to deprovision licences for retired or inactive devices or accounts. Failing to deprovision licences can therefore lead to non-compliance fees or legal action.
3. Data security: Unused software licences can create security vulnerabilities, as they may contain outdated patches or vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious actors. Deprovisioning these licences helps to improve your institution’s overall security position. 
4. Optimising IT resources: By proactively deprovisioning licences, universities can prevent unnecessary software installations and reduce the burden on their IT infrastructure. This frees up resources for other critical tasks and optimizes IT operations. 
5. Improved licence management: A comprehensive licence deprovisioning process can provide universities with a clear overview of their software inventory, enabling them to make informed decisions about future licensing needs and procurements. 

Delivering effective licence deprovisioning 

Whilst recognising the importance of removing old or unused licences, many institutions struggle with the process. In fact, many institutions are still running manual licence deprovisioning programmes, which can be labour-intensive, error-prone and time-consuming.  

In such models, IT staff need to manually track user access and manually revoke licences, leading to potential delays, administrative overheads and security risks. Moreover, manual deprovisioning processes can result in inefficiencies including wasted resources and increased costs.  

If that sounds familiar, then perhaps the following steps might offer a route forwards? 

• Create a clear deprovisioning policy: Define clear guidelines for when and how to deprovision licences, considering factors such as device retirement, account termination, and software obsolescence.  
• Implement a centralised licence management system: Use a centralised licence management tool like Academic Software to track software assets, monitor licence usage and automate deprovisioning processes.  
• Automate deprovisioning workflows: Integrate the licence management system with other key IT systems to remove licences when specific events occur, such as device retirement or account termination.  
• Carry out regular licence audits: These are a key part of the process to identify unused or expired licences, ensuring that only active licences are retained.  
• Educate IT staff and users: Provide training to IT staff and other users on licence deprovisioning procedures to ensure consistency and compliance.

Streamlining deprovisioning with Academic Software

The Academic Software platform offers an advanced automation solution to streamline the licence deprovisioning process outlined above. By integrating with other essential IT systems, the platform ensures that licence deprovisioning happens seamlessly and in a timely manner. 

Automated licence deprovisioning with Academic Software offers several benefits to educational institutions:

Compliance and security: Automated deprovisioning ensures compliance with data protection regulations and internal security policies. When users no longer need access to specific digital tools, their licences are automatically revoked, preventing unauthorised access. This enhances data security and reduces the risk of data breaches or unauthorised usage.

Cost optimisation: By revoking licences promptly when they are no longer needed, institutions can reallocate those licences to other users. This eliminates unnecessary licensing costs and ensures that resources are utilised effectively, resulting in cost savings for the institution.

Streamlined workflows: With Academic Software's automated systems, deprovisioning happens seamlessly and in real-time, without the need for manual tracking or intervention. This frees up IT staff to focus on more strategic tasks and reduces the potential for human error in the deprovisioning process.

Contact us today to learn more about how Academic Software can help your institution deliver seamless license deprovisioning and reap the rewards of a more efficient, secure, and cost-effective IT environment.