Security is often associated with the prevention of loss through fraud and error, preventing unauthorized access or segregation of duty problems is a must have for any organization. However, another hidden cost is that with licensing.
Poor security can result in two types of license problems, namely over-rage and under utilization, on the one hand you may be found to be using more licenses than you anticipated, and on the other you may be paying for licenses you are not using. Both of these scenarios are avoidable if the effective governance of your applications and services are employed.
47% of Companies struggle to onboard because of IT processes.
Forty-two percent (of organizations) experienced at least 5% of instances of unauthorized access to SaaS applications and cloud infrastructure due to de-provisioning deficiencies of former workers; one-fifth had more than 10% such instances; and 17% didn’t know the extent of unauthorized access stemming from incomplete de-provisioning of employees and contractors.
With these statistics in mind, it is easy to see that the opportunity for mismanagement of license attribution to users must be common. If users are not put through effective onboarding and offboarding, how can we be sure that our asset management for licenses falls in line? The likelihood is that there are mismatches between the organization's expected license usage and the actual numbers.
Traditionally, on-premises software required a considerable effort to deploy new features and modules, going all the way back where new updates required a CD or other media to deploy an update. Today Cloud applications ensure that not only are the deployments easy (and without physical media or indeed any install) but adding new features is as easy as throwing a switch.
Many applications have the opportunity to turn on new license features by clicking a button. While this functionality may often require additional configuration, the fact is that new functionality is opened up.
Securing users from accessing the enablement features within applications is crucial, along with the procedures and processes for managing change when these new modules or licensed features are to be used. Treated like any other asset will ensure that when new features are required that your organization has made that choice, and the process has gone through a formal procurement and deployment plan and execution.
In many applications (Netsuite for example) licensing is controlled by Role assignment, and in circumstances where a user may get roles that have conflicting licensing. In these circumstances the role with the most expensive license takes the lead (of course). You may believe that a user is a read only or a low level license user, but in fact has a higher license profile, thus costing you more.
Whether licenses are assigned by Role or by function, or by User count, one thing is for sure: greater security can lower your license costs.
In many applications licenses are assigned by the functionality used which is granted by way of permissions or privileges (many other Oracle applications follow this principle). Users who have too much access may be opening up your organization to license exposure by utilizing functionality that you didn't intend to use.
Implementing effective security both in terms of access and the evaluation of users (are there users who should have access revoked because they left the organization?) helps ensure not only better assurance of the protection of your organization, but also ensures that license issues can be effectively controlled.
Seecuring evaluates not only your security, but your users and their access to align this data with your expectations of licensing and compliance objectives. Our solutions will identify any conflicting access for segregation of duties and also for license conflicts.
This process is undertaken without installing any software, without capital expenditure. Our subscription solution builds assurance around all of your applications and services. With a comprehensive set of rules that reviews sensitive access, segregation of duties, the impact of change and licenses, Seecuring provides the kind of assurance that takes weeks and months of manual review and implementation in less than 72 hours. We give you the details and expertise to solve the problems identified.
If security and/or licensing remain a problem for your organization, get in touch to see how our solution can guide you toward a more compliant and complete access and license position.