License Management Market

Market Overview

The global license management market size was valued at USD 977 million in 2021. It is expected to reach USD 2,125 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 10.2% during the forecast period (2022–2030).

License management is a potent tool that an organization employs to document and control its software licenses to ensure compliance with the software developer's license. It provides complete enterprise software usage visibility, can optimize all licenses, minimize expenses, and safeguard future software investments. A license agreement is made with the licensor when an organization purchases software and is installed or accessed. These End-User License Agreements (EULA) outline the conditions under which the product may be used, in addition to the licensor's automatic rights, which may expose the organization to risks like data security violations and employee liabilities unplanned expenditures due to non-compliance and unfavorable legal positions. Software license management is a technology used by businesses in various industries to manage, control, and optimize software used within an organization. Licensing management systems assist companies in maximizing software expenditures and automating software license entitlement and delivery.

The management of IT services and their applications for both short- and long-term strategic decisions has been a consistent trend. Depending on the features and capabilities, businesses are investing considerably in their IT infrastructure to replace old systems. Competing upgrades and replacements could significantly impact future changes to the larger market share. Due to the fast-expanding features of the software, digital technologies are being used across numerous manufacturing industries, further accelerating the market's growth. The market is anticipated to expand due to the increasing need for sophisticated networking, which helps businesses undergo digital transformation and produce new business outcomes using the latest technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Market Dynamics

Global License Management Market Drivers

Need for Optimizing Software Investment

Optimization is crucial to this expanding trend as more businesses adopt cloud computing and go digital at every opportunity. Due to the continued erosion of their profit margins, companies are concentrating on reducing operational costs. Another approach to cut costs is by using licensing management software. Businesses are always looking for ways to maximize software utilization and minimize losses brought on by license non-compliance. License management also helps businesses to manage all contracts, agreements, license entitlements, and software inventory from a single spot.

Organizations can protect themselves against unforeseen license fees and penalties using license management software to effectively arrange and store software agreements. It has enabled businesses to minimize the cost of purchasing software through various methods, including fewer license purchases, avoiding fines for non-compliance, minimizing renewals by doing away with shelfware maintenance, and maximizing volume discounts.

Increased Demand for Audit-Readiness in Organizations

Every year, software license audits cost companies millions of dollars and take a significant amount of customer time and effort to complete. An audit must be conducted from time to time to verify that the list of deployed software is accurate as part of the continuing requirement to manage license entitlements. Making an enterprise-wide count assessment of the number of deployed software instances in the IT environment corresponding to the approved software instances being managed is one technique to gauge audit readiness. Software licensing information in the Licenses program can be compared to counts of identified software instances.

Organizations with a software asset management (SAM) strategy benefit as software audits grows more prevalent. Therefore, there is a need for the best software licensing management solutions due to several variables like rising costs, penalties, and the potential for compliance concerns. Influential studies are performed by the software license management tool to determine how many software licenses the user requires and to guarantee that the permit is utilized correctly.

Global License Management Market Restraint

Stringent Regulatory Framework and Compliances

Businesses worldwide are seeking strategies to grow due to the fiercer competition. Due to numerous country-specific legal norms and regulations, organizations must overcome several obstacles. Using licenses at remote offices in various nations leads to several non-compliance problems. Most software license agreements restrict usage outside of the country of purchase. Global corporations with offices across several nations must buy licenses in one place and utilize them in another. Such organizations must pay additional expenses in cases of international deployment.

Global License Management Market Opportunities

Increasing Cloud Hosting Business

Organizations are evaluating the cloud as a critical component of their IT strategies to remain competitive in the global market. Customers benefit from the advantages of cloud computing technology's low-cost, scalable, and flexible solutions. Over 90% of businesses assert to use cloud computing in some capacity. Organizations from all industry sectors are excited to take advantage of the commercial potential in cloud hosting due to advances in cloud technology. The license management hosting team now has the chance to take advantage of the revenue potential presented by cloud hosting. For managing software licenses in the cloud, DXC provides hosting programs for Microsoft SPLA, Citrix, and VMware; Reprise Software provides RLMCloud, and Flexera Software provides FlexNet Cloud Licensing Service.

Regional Analysis

North American Supremacy in the Overall Market

Region-wise, the global license management market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

North America will command the market, expanding at a CAGR of 9.86% over the forecast period. The majority of the leading manufacturers of license management software, including Agilis Software, IBM, Micro Focus, and Oracle, to name a few, have their main offices in the United States. The region is one of the top revenue-producing ones since its member countries, particularly the US and Canada, are heavily investing in technology advancements. The number of new products offered by international vendors in the region has grown exponentially over many years. Chronicle Graphics, for instance, unveiled its new License Management System. Users of the OnePager Pro and Express software could quickly and effectively obtain and activate their license keys online due to this new enterprise-level platform. Thus, these factors contribute to the market share.

Europe will likely grow at a CAGR of 10.2%, generating USD 616 million by 2030. The coronavirus outbreak generally accelerated the growth phase of the SaaS sector and the subscription industry. In particular, applications like subscription-based conferences and collaboration software fuel the SaaS sector's expansion. According to billwerk's Subscription Industry study 2021, which focuses on the DACH region, the pandemic raised demand in the software as a service segment (SaaS), as the number of individuals working from home and homeschooling caused the need for specialized software tools to soar. The rise of software-assisted processes and equipment in every industry has also increased the importance of licensing management, even for businesses that previously had little to do with it. These elements are fueling market expansion in the European continent.

Segmental Analysis

The global license management market is classified based on component, deployment, end-user, and region.

Component-wise, the global license management market is segmented into Software and Service.

The Software section is projected to advance at a CAGR of 10.1% and hold the largest market share over the forecast period. The term "license management" refers to two different use cases. It alludes to software asset management (SAM) programs used to keep track of licenses that a business may have acquired from various software producers. This makes it easier to abide by licensing terms and use licenses best. In contrast, the term "software licensing management" is also used to describe a method that independent software vendors (ISVs) or software publishers use to set up, manage, and sell licenses for their software applications to clients. Before contacting potential vendors, it can save a lot of time and effort to determine what kind of solution a company is looking for.

The Service section will hold the second-largest share. Managed and professional services are among the benefits of license management companies. These services provide the assistance required to uphold corporate process effectiveness, improve system dependability, maintain infrastructure, and foster expansion while lowering undesirable and unforeseen operating costs. Additionally, a business may need to manage licenses for software used in mobile applications, SaaS subscription-based goods, application programming interfaces (APIs), or consultancy project components.

Deployment-wise, the global license management market is segmented into Cloud and On-premise.

The Cloud section is projected to advance at a CAGR of 10.3% and hold the largest market share. Several developing market solutions can assist end-user verticals like BFSI, IT & telecom, and healthcare, add licensing to their goods, safeguard their IP, and increase income. Due to the radical change in the workplace and the possibility that many teams would continue to operate remotely in the days to come, spending on cloud-based solutions increased dramatically during the pandemic. Organizations are moving quickly to the cloud to modernize infrastructures, boost system stability, support hybrid work styles, and consider other new realities.

The On-premise section will hold the second-largest share. One of the classic ways of implementing and operating corporate software is on-premise. Companies organize their own data centers, purchase servers and other equipment, and use these resources to run internal and external software solutions. Due to concerns about the security of storing data in the cloud, financial institutions have historically been cautious about abandoning on-premise technology. Due to the necessity to install software at each operating facility, which necessitates the purchase of a license or copy of the software, on-premise deployment may be expensive for businesses.

End-user-wise, the global license management market is segmented into BFSI, Healthcare & Life Sciences, IT & Telecommunication, Media & Entertainment, and Others.

The BFSI section is projected to advance at a CAGR of 9.75% and hold the largest market share over the forecast period. The financial industry comprises numerous sectors, including banking, insurance, real estate, private equity, stockbroking, and venture capital, all of which keep firms in every sector running smoothly daily. BFSI organizations are urged to use cutting-edge software for effective contract generation, next-level security and visibility, and a unified compliance management system due to the high-risk and high-value nature of the contracts they manage, the need for adherence to a variety of compliance regulations, and a critical necessity for contract security and accessibility.

The IT & Telecommunication section will hold the second-largest share. Organizations in the IT and telecom sectors use various services to suit their complex business requirements. Many businesses still handle their subscriptions and licenses using intricate spreadsheets or devices that allow manual procedures. Companies may eliminate these manual methods and conserve time, money, and resources by automating licensing management across the spectrum of subscription services.

Recent Developments

• 2022 - IBM Corporation announced the development of a new 33-month work order according to its agreement with the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) to offer security services designed to improve the Department of Defense's (DoD) microelectronics supply chain for mission-critical platforms.
• 2022 - Oracle and Microsoft Corp announced the release of Oracle Database Service for Microsoft Azure. Customers of Microsoft Azure can provision, manage, and manage enterprise-grade Oracle Database solutions in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) using a familiar interface.