By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 12th, 2024
Leading management consultancy firm Accenture has developed a blockchain-based application created to manage and track software licenses.
To effectively conduct various transactions and attract more customers, companies purchase different software licenses for their staff to use and incorporate them in software for clients. Bit it’s not an easy thing to monitor licenses and make sure that an entire category of Software Asset Management (SAM) tools exist. Accenture, global management consultancy company, has come up with the solution.
Accenture has announced a blockchain-based application that delivers enhanced enterprise software asset management capabilities. According to the press release, the new app uses Digital Asset’s smart contract language, DAML, to model and enforce software license events throughout their lifecycle, from origination to purchase, which simplifies tracking, usage and audit functions.
The company has to manage a lot of software licenses for various customers — including businesses — all around the world, that’s why Accenture has been looking for a technological solution that would underpin its procedures and policies.
As Accenture states, the innovation is going to be one of its first DLT-based solutions. The company has chosen distributed ledger technology, not centralized database, as blockchain can make it easier to monitor licenses and improve the auditing process. Accenture will be able to see which customer got a license, which can help the company save plenty of money and avoid lots of paperwork annually.
Melanie Cutlan, senior principal and Accenture Operations blockchain lead, said:
“We manage a significant portfolio of software licenses across businesses, clients and geographies, which demands relevant policies and procedures supported with the right technology. While software asset tracking and management tools have evolved, it can still be a daunting task for any large organization to manage. The power of DLT will simplify the traceability of these licenses, and, therefore, the auditing function so all can see where each license is assigned. This has the potential to save organizations millions of dollars per year in the management of their software license portfolios.”
Chris Church, chief business development officer at Digital Asset, commented on the initiative:
“The delivery of this application also represents a tremendous milestone for us since this is the first application built for a non-financial use case to go into production on the Digital Asset Platform.”
According to Accenture, the app is patent-pending. The company believes that it will effectively allow organizations to reduce the risk of utilizing unlicensed software or failure to comply with license use terms. Moreover, it is expected to ensure transparency in distribution and utilization of licenses.
Accenture to Foster Blockchain Adoption
Accenture is the world’s leading professional services company. Accenture provides unmatched services in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Partnering with more than three-quarters of the Fortune Global 500, Accenture is driving innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. With expertise across more than 40 industries and all business functions, the company delivers transformational outcomes for digital world.
Recently, Accenture developed a two-way solution that empowers major blockchain platforms to work together without changes to the DLT platforms or ongoing messaging between the different platforms.
Accenture is going to continue testing its technology solutions to establish integration effectiveness between other leading DLT platforms and further foster blockchain adoption. The company has already filed three patent applications for major elements of the underlying technology used in the integration solution and is set to apply blockchain to upgrade its logistics network.