Non-Commercial Use Clause - A Software Licensing Land Mine

At The Institute for Technology Asset Management, we’ve encountered the “Non-Commercial Use” clause in multiple instances of enterprises being audited for non-compliance. The bottom line behind this clause is its very “obtuse-ness” (if you will).

Much like the “right to audit” clause & its reliance on various nebulous (ever-shifting?) definitions of both “audit” & “compliance”, the Non-Commercial Use clause permits the copyright holder to write the rules as they encounter the instance – even up to selecting the most useful copyright law to cite in your legal notification - thus maximizing the potential for non-compliance settlement fines & penalties.

Further (& again, we believe intentionally), VERY few IT personnel have any clue how non-commercial applies to ownership of the system versus how the product is actually being utilized much less which systems in the enterprise contain these products. As software asset managers - SAMs - it's up to us to help educate the enterprise about this hazardous clause - one that is present in a wide range of licenses.

Result of Misinterpreting This Clause: You become an easy - & conveniently defenseless - audit target!

Bottom Line: Closely review the license terms. If the license has a Non-Commercial Use clause, recognize that the clause essentially applies to both where you put the product AND how you use that product. Essentially, do not place the product on a corporate system & do not use that product to produce any subsequent product or service.

Want a revealing experience relating to this type of clause (from the perspective of real live IT personnel)?  Read the following thread - it's long...but invest the time in clearly understanding this classic disconnect between licensees & licensors.  The organization initiating the thread used an evaluation licensed product – with a non-commercial use license caveat - in a production environment.  The odds are really high that your own IT personnel have done this, or are doing this… The thread is HERE.

SAM Credentials Need To Evolve To Reflect Competency, Not Instant Certifications

It never fails to astound me that asset management practitioners can be transformed from "I just got this job" into proficient(?) software asset management professionals in as few as one or two days of training. I'm further blown away that a majority of our industry training programs include an "instant" short-term memory exam as part of their certification schedule.

Do me a favor & check my math. It looks like the typical training session can be completed in an average of two business days. These sessions probably include multiple breaks for coffee, tea, lunch, & (I hope) at least a 2.5 hour exam. If I'm correct in my calculations, the actual time-on-task for today's certified SAM practitioners churned out by the typical 2-day program is less than 7 hours. I hate to even consider the time-on-task for a single day program.

Based on all this, it would seem to me that we're actually killing our credentials by popping out people who know just enough to get themselves & their enterprises into what an ancient Chinese knowledge expert dubbed as "interesting" SAM operational times. (Yes, I know they didn't phrase it quite that way.)

Here's how we approach the typical SAM certification problems with the training & credential programs from The Institute for Technology Asset Management:

• Our SAM credential has been broken down into Software and copyright compliance Assurance (SCCA) and Software Asset Management (SAM). Between these two, the candidate receives more than 29 hours of actual time-on-task training broken into approximately 39 individual focused self-paced sessions.
• We are not proprietary in our programming. We focus on openly available competencies that practitioners can easily apply specifically to their SAM (and IT) environments. Nothing is hidden.
• We have broken out the classic SAM training program into brief self-paced on demand sessions that can be taken singly or as a bundle.
• Via this individual session delivery, we can deliver significantly more time-on-task than ANY alternative program in the industry.
• When the basics of the certification are delivered online, we can eliminate the costly & disruptive travel aspect.of typical SAM programs.
• The Institute also provides an "open source" style knowledge base (in the form of our easily acquired Guide to the Technology Asset Management Body of Knowledge (TAMBOK). Through this simple TAMBOK practitioners and enterprises alike can gain a comprehensive view of the actual needs of asset management infrastructure.
• What's more, The Institute provides third party tracking of your training portfolio via a SCORM Compliant industry standard Learning Management system.
• Also, the SAM-related exams are free-standing and can be completed at any time after fully completing the coursework. This provides candidates with plenty of time to study and translate their knowledge from short-term memory into their more stable long-term memory. Result? Candidates learn and remember more than ever before.

I'll cover additional differentiators for Institute credentials in follow-on posts. For now, recognize that The Institute is moving SAM & ITAM credentialing into the next generation of credibility - for practitioners, as well as for those who hire credentialed SAMs / ITAMs. 

To look over the range of Institute Software & Copyright Compliance Assurance (SCCA) and Software Asset Management (SAM) credential programs, click HERE

sign in to the LMS (Learning Management System) [ It's Free] and review the course content.  Each session has a brief printed introduction and the live sessions last from 30 to 90 minutes.

Any questions, please let me know.

The Next Generation of SAM Training & Certification is Here

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Reduce the cost of your SAM credential by eliminating unnecessary travel costs. Complete the core competencies of Software & Copyright Compliance Assurance (SCCA) & Software Asset Management (SAM) at your own pace without disrupting your busy schedule.

Follow the link included below to check in to the SAM training industry's only competency-based professional development system. Via our free Learning Management System (LMS) you'll build a credible portfolio of successful course & credential progression.

Read the content overviews & review over 38 cutting edge SCCA & SAM offerings. Take one or more cost-effective 20 minute to 90 minute sessions to try it out, or opt for the even more cost-effective bundled series. The programs come with over 600 pages of Workbooks to help you tailor the content to your unique enterprise & culture. These Institute for Technology Asset Management programs significantly exceed the scope & depth of virtually any alternative SAM programs on the market.

Have questions about the SCCA or SAM credentials? Feel free to ask. I'll provide whatever answers you need to succeed.

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