Used Software and Audit Readiness: Reduce IT Costs, Deliver Greater Licensing Transparency

PREO Software AG is a professional partner for buying and selling second-hand software licences. PREO makes it easy for medium /large companies and organizations to integrate used software licences into their procurement strategies in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations.

PREO will help you cut down your IT budget. Through our participation in your software projects you will reap key benefits which are available today with respect to efficiency, licence management and hybrid licence scenarios. What sets PREO apart is its outstanding quality and reliability, which is based on comprehensive compliance, security and maximum transparency of all transaction steps.

What Is Your Company's Cloud Strategy?

Cloud software has numerous advantages. But more and more companies are asking themselves whether the future really lies in a 100% cloud strategy or in an individual hybrid architecture.

PREO does not think in black and white, but in terms of customer benefits and individual solutions. It doesn't matter which way your company goes - whether completely, selectively or without cloud at all. We show you ways to optimise your cost structures while retaining all the freedom to equip all workstations according to their use.

What Is Your Company's Cloud Strategy?

If you only buy licence keys for used software, you only buy the equivalent of a car key – you can use it to start the engine, but it does not mean that you own the car.

When buying and reselling used software, we go beyond the documentation obligations required in legal practice (Ruling of CJEU in 2012, Az.: C-128/11 and ruling of German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in 2013, Az.: I ZR 129/08 und 2014, Az.: I ZR 8/13).

In addition to the licence keys, PREO will provide you with everything that makes your company the rightful owner of the software licences. By disclosing the licence history, we exceed the legal requirements. We provide our customers with information about the first owner and the previous owners, including the contract numbers and deletion confirmations.

Our Commitment to Maximum Transparency Has Three Advantages:

1. Audit readiness: If any questions arise, you will be in a good position to defend yourself – as the documents we check and hand over to you will confirm that our purchasing processes are compliant.
2. Optimal control and availability: If internal or external auditors want to check the legally compliant purchase receipts, you can present them immediately without having to request them, which can be time-consuming.
3. Hassle-free resale: If you later decide to resell some or all used licences, it will be straightforward because you will have all the paperwork ready.

Today, PREO is one of the few suppliers of pre-owned software, which offers volume licences tailored to the customer's needs combined with the necessary legal certainty and full transparency.

To meet all the requirements and standards of your internal controllers and external auditors, we will provide you with the following:

1. On request, the licence agreement with the vendor.
2. The complete chain of rights, including all previous owners.
3. The documented update history of the purchased software.
4. Confirmation of the complete deletion of all previous owners.

Proof of the Quality of Our Processes: Insurance Cover Against Financial Losses of Our Customers

Insurance companies will only cover businesses against third-party liability if they are satisfied that everything is being done in that business to prevent an insured event from occurring.

We are also the ideal project partner for the sale of used software licences. The major advantage we can offer you:

• our experience and the well-established procedures to complete the sales process in a manner that is professional and audit-ready.

While the sale will not put any organisational burden on your IT department, you will improve your cost efficiency, money will flow back to your budget, and you will have cash to spend on new investments.

Gartner's Recommendation: Businesses Should Resell Used Software Licences Instead of Throwing Them Away

At a certain point, IT purchasing managers will find it difficult to continue reducing the high total cost of software licences through better software asset management (SAM).

As early as 2017, Gartner recommended that European companies should reduce their overall software costs by up to 50 percent through various best practices. Surprisingly, businesses largely overlook or fail to take advantage of these opportunities, even where their stated objective is to improve their IT cost-efficiency.  

These best practices explicitly include the sale of used software licences.

“European licensees should investigate reselling licences which are no longer used, on the used software market.”

Asklepios Kliniken Relies on Our Convenient and Secure Processes

Interview with Christian Schmidt, Managing Director of Asklepios IT-Services Hamburg GmbH.

Asklepios has 47,000 employees in Germany. Christian Schmidt explains in an interview how he achieved 50 percent savings with the help of PREO Software AG and an external consultant.

Read the full case

With their expertise in all matters relating to the smart use of pre-owned software licences, our consultants will help you optimise your procurement strategies and make standard applications available in the workplace in the most cost-efficient manner. This includes professional, company-specific advice on a wide range of desktop scenarios and hybrid software landscapes.

Talk to Us About Your Software Sourcing Project and Your Requirements

With more than 15 years of professional experience in trading in used software licences, we are a highly reliable and efficient provider throughout Europe.

Conclusion: PREO will always provide you with the solution for your software projects that ...

1. works well for your employees,
2. supports your IT productivity,
3. optimises your IT cost efficiency,
4. is supported by audit-ready and compliant documentation.

Talk to us about your used software project, your objectives and your needs.