Wasatch Software Announces Free Software License Research

Wasatch Software has announced that it will offer free software license research for volume license customers. This free software license research service offers your organization many benefits:

• Ability to locate previous purchases that you may be unaware of
• Helps eliminate duplicate purchases
• Assists you in avoiding legal liability associated with the use of unlicensed software
• Available for volume license purchases from Microsoft and other software vendors

This unique service utilizes partnerships that Wasatch Software maintains with several major software vendors. Please visit our software license research site today for more information.

Is Symantec Making a Comeback?

Is Symantec making a comeback? Most consumers and IT professionals who have had recent experience with the industry leader understand that they have been in quite a slump. Many blame the slump on their merger VERITAS, which, from a channel partner’s perspective, seemed to go off with more than a few hiccups. In late 2006 many customers (including many of Wasatch Software’s) didn’t receive license certificates for several days or even weeks. Other customers were experiencing hold times of several hours when they called for support. In addition to these issues IT professionals complained of inaccurate reporting in the management consoles of Symantec products (most notably Symantec Antivirus).

Thankfully, Symantec seems to be resolving these problems. Since the beginning of ’07 most license certificates are being issued within 2 or 3 business days. Hold times can still be rather long from time to time, but they are certainly improving. The addition of VERITAS’ line of products is a great compliment to what Symantec already offers. Acquisitions of companies like Altiris also signal that the software company is likely to continue its dominance of their market.

With these positive signs channel partners were beginning to get over the unease they had been feeling about Symantec. Personally, I was further pleased by a discussion I had with our Symantec territory sales rep, who acknowledged that there were problems in their transition with VERITAS. He described to me how they had ramped up their support staff, and how the issues their customers were facing were regrettable ‘growing pains’. Had it not been for the progress I had seen over the past few months I might have viewed this as mere lip service. However, the worst seems to be over for Symantec and their future may be brighter than ever.

WasatchSoftware.com #3 in Traffic for Microsoft Licensing Sites

I was very pleased to see that WasatchSoftware.com now ranks #3 in traffic among Microsoft Software Licensing websites. This data is provided by Alexa, which is often regarded as the top provider of web traffic information. Alexa collects data from web crawlers, as well as toolbars installed on millions of computers worldwide.

The #3 ranking for WasatchSoftware.com is for all sites classified in Alexa's 'Computers >> Software >> Licensing >> Microsoft' category. Both sites with higher traffic than WasatchSoftware.com are owned by Microsoft itself, and the site directly below WasatchSoftware.com (www.MicrosoftSale.com) is also owned and operated by Wasatch Software, Inc. Other notable sites that fall below Wasatch Software's traffic level are License Online and Tech Soup.

Wasatch Software's experts are dedicated to not only providing an easy way to purchase computer hardware and software online, but also to providing high quality information on software licensing and related topics to assist IT professionals and other end users. Should you have a suggestion for our site, please post a comment or contact us today!

Software License Awareness Day is April 10, 2007

Imagine your organization faces a legal risk, one that is manageable. Would you be interested in eliminating this liability? Thankfully, 'Software License Awareness Day' gives you an opportunity to do just that! The annual event is scheduled to take place on April 10, 2007.

The use of software without proper licensing is a copyright infringement. If a software publisher brings civil action against your organization you may face up to $150,000 in damages for each software program being used illegally. Also, organizations of all sizes can be held liable for employees’ actions even if management was not aware.

If your company is at risk you may feel overwhelmed. Indeed, legitimate software licensing can be costly. Spencer Ferguson, President of Wasatch Software, notes that taking some simple steps can go a long way towards fixing the problem. “If your organization faces a software piracy issue it is best to start fixing it right away, even if you must do it slowly. Many companies can obtain financing, allowing them to spread the cost of getting legit over time. Even the purchase of a few software licenses each month can make a big difference in becoming legit.”

The Business Software Alliance (BSA), an organization that helps software companies fight piracy, estimates that the United States faces a piracy rate of 21%.

Organizations of all sizes are encouraged to set aside time to evaluate their software license situation on April 10, 2007. Software license agents from Wasatch Software are available throughout ‘Software License Awareness Day’ to help you address any potential issues on a confidential basis.