Unused license potential – Former employees
Many companies need to save money. That's why it's more important than ever to keep a close eye on your own expenses. But how can you efficiently track which costs are necessary and which are not?
Preventing unnecessary expenses early on is the most effective way to save money.
Those who don't order save 100%
One area where many organizations lose money without noticing is license management. Hundreds of thousands of euros are lost every year because there is a lack of transparency regarding assigned and used software licenses. This is especially true when employees leave the company and their licenses continue to run unnoticed.
The problem in detail
What typically happens when employees leave?
In many cases, the IT user account is deactivated and access is blocked, but the software licenses remain active. These licenses are often linked to user accounts and continue to incur costs even though no one is using them anymore.
Typical causes for this:
- Lack of coordination between HR, IT, and license management
- No automated offboarding processes
- Lack of transparency regarding license assignments and usage
What at first glance sounds like a minor organizational oversight quickly adds up to a significant cost block in large companies.
The effects:
- Financial losses: Monthly paid but unused licenses cause unnecessary expenses
- Inefficient use of resources: Licenses that remain blocked cannot be allocated elsewhere
- Security risks: Active access for former employees can represent potential vulnerabilities
Example
In a customer project for a client in the automotive industry, we discovered that a large number of software licenses had been blocked for months.
A detailed analysis showed that many of these licenses were assigned to former employees. After they left the company, these licenses were never deactivated or returned. License management was not informed of this because there was simply no flow of information between HR, IT, and license administrators. Together with the departments involved, we then developed a clear process. As soon as an employee leaves the company, a message is automatically sent to license management if that employee has a license assigned to them.
This simple but effective workflow ensured that an overview of all departures from the previous month was available at the beginning of each month. This allows unused licenses to be withdrawn or reassigned immediately.
The result: In the first year alone, over €100,000 in license costs were saved – without any new tools or investments, solely through transparency and process optimization.
This example shows how great the potential is when companies take a structured approach to license management.
Unused license potential as an opportunity
Unused licenses are not an unavoidable cost factor. They are an opportunity for optimization. Why?
- Freed-up licenses can be assigned directly to new employees
- Avoidance of unnecessary purchases: no duplicate licensing, no superfluous orders
- Increased IT efficiency: Clear processes reduce manual work and sources of error
Instead of reacting to rising license costs, it is worth introducing proactive measures.
Conclusion
Unused license potential is one of the silent cost drivers in many companies. Simple, coordinated processes can achieve enormous savings without any new investments.
The example shows that transparency is the key.
When the departments involved communicate with each other and automated processes are created, significant sums can be saved.
Author: Khalid Abu Nemah