Technology Asset Management: Hidden Costs & Risks During an Acquisition, Merger, or Name Change
If your company is involved--or may become involved--in an acquisition, merger, name change, or even change of address, you had better be completely sure of the precise content of every technology license and support or maintenance agreement within your technology portfolio. The reason?
Inside every one of these legally binding documents are a series of quietly onerous terms and conditions that the licensor can hyper-enforce to take you on a quick--and very expensive--trip to the fines and penalties bank and mis-trust.
Real World - This company paid a six figure software license penalty because a zoning modification required them to move their corporate address around the corner to a different side of their building. (Same building...Big Fine)
Forewarned is forearmed... Even a simple thing like upgrading a server or other major system can cause your company to fall victim to vendor sharp practices--also referred to as stiffing--when you bend even a single clause in that carefully crafted contract.
As the economy continues to play havoc with bottom lines, some technology suppliers are more than willing to hyper-enforce their agreements just to wring a few extra bucks out of your budget--and they aren't too worried about you displacing their product when they play hard ball.
