Software license management: understand what is actually being used

Software licenses rarely become wasteful overnight. The waste builds gradually.

A tool is purchased for an urgent project. Several people receive access as a precaution. The project ends, the team changes, and the subscription continues. When renewal time arrives, nobody wants to take the risk of removing it.

Software license management replaces this general caution with more useful information: who uses the tool, how often, and for what kind of work.

The goal is not to reduce the number of tools at any cost.

The goal is to pay for tools that create value, assign them to the right people, and review those that are no longer being used.

Why renewals happen out of habit

When reliable information is missing, renewing everything feels like the least risky choice.

Removing a license might block someone. Reducing the number of seats might create delays. Asking every department takes time, and the answers are often based on memory.

So everything gets renewed, and the review is postponed until the following year.

In the meantime, the company accumulates:

• accounts assigned to people who have changed roles;
• full licenses used for only one basic feature;
• similar tools purchased by different teams;
• subscriptions connected to completed projects;
• software that is installed but never opened;
• plans that are oversized compared with actual usage.

The cost of one license may seem modest. Multiplied across dozens of people and many vendors, it becomes a significant expense.

Which data is genuinely useful

A good process does not require a complicated system. For each tool, it helps to know:

• who is allowed to use it;
• who used it during the period being reviewed;
• how frequently it was used;
• which team or project requires it;
• how much the license costs;
• when it renews;
• who decides whether to keep it.

This information does not make the decision automatically, but it makes the discussion far more concrete.

A tool opened only occasionally may be essential at a specific point in the year. A license used every day might still be replaceable by a solution the company already has. Usage data is the starting point, not the only criterion.

How DevKira helps

In DevKira, tools can be made available inside a managed environment instead of being installed and assigned independently on every computer.

This makes it possible to:

• see which tools are being used, by whom, and in what context;
• connect assignments to roles, making them easier to review when someone changes project;
• reduce scattered installations, which make it difficult to know what is still present;
• prepare renewals using real data, rather than relying only on internal questionnaires;
• compare usage and cost, helping identify oversized plans or duplicate tools.

The most important benefit appears before the renewal date. Procurement, finance, and IT can work from the same information.

A practical example

A company needs to renew three tools purchased the previous year.

The first is used every week by almost the entire team and remains essential. The second has twenty licenses, but only four people open it regularly. The third was tied to a completed project and has not been used for months.

The decision becomes straightforward:

• the first tool is renewed;
• the second moves to a smaller plan;
• the third is closed after confirming that it contains no data that must be retained.

Nobody loses a useful tool. The company simply stops paying for capacity it does not use.

A four-stage review process

1. Before purchasing

Define the owner, the problem the tool is meant to solve, and when it will be reviewed.

2. During use

Monitor assignments, adoption, and requests for additional licenses. Avoid adding accounts without a clearly identified owner.

3. Before renewal

Review at least the previous few months, speak with the active users, and compare the purchased plan with the actual need.

4. After the decision

Revoke access that is no longer required, retain useful data, and update the inventory. A license that has been removed from the budget but remains accessible is not truly closed.

Frequently asked questions

How much can a company save?

It depends on the number of tools, the company's growth rate, and the quality of the current process. The first goal should be to identify verifiable waste, rather than promise a generic percentage.

Does low usage mean the license is unnecessary?

Not always. Some tools are used rarely but are important at specific times. The context should be checked before a license is removed.

Can I reduce a plan without cancelling it?

Yes. Reducing seats, features, or capacity is often a better choice than removing the tool completely.

How should I manage a license shared by several teams?

Assign a common owner and define how cost and usage are allocated. Without an owner, shared licenses tend to escape review.

Does this also apply to AI tools?

Yes, although AI often adds usage-based costs. For that reason, license management should be connected to AI spend monitoring.

The next step

Start with the tools that renew soonest or cost the most. A review of these tools is most likely to produce a visible result quickly.

You may also find the business and IT collaboration guide useful.

See how DevKira makes tool usage easier to understand.