EY launches automated tool for licence management

Consulting firm EY's Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services has launched an automated tool, EY SAPPHIRE, to help clients maintain compliance, control licence costs and optimise existing licence landscape.
Managed by forensic technology and discovery services arm, this tool is expected to considerably reduce the manual time and effort required to manage SAP software licences, EY said in a statement here.
"Today, businesses are operating amidst an enhanced risk landscape, and effective compliance is no longer just a good-to-have measure, but a norm," Paul Walker, Partner and Head (EMEIA), Forensic Technology & Services, EY said.
"As the influx of technology has permeated through to every division within the company, it has become inherently impossible to track information without automation.

"This has prompted EY to devise comprehensive tools - such as EY SAPPHIRE, for businesses to effectively decipher loopholes and thereby enhance their levels of compliance around SAP licences," Walker added.
Typically, non-compliance with licensing rules and disputes between the IP owner and user, could potentially amount to millions of dollars, it said.

Globally, there has been an increase in the number of software licensing related disputes over the last year, EY said.
EY SAPPHIRE enables organisations manage issues in a centralised manner to mitigate financial, legal and reputational risks.
Some other compliance challenges companies face include wastage, unclear or incorrect licences, and integration of SAP and non-SAP applications, the statement added.