Most organizations know how many hardware assets they own. Far fewer know how many software licenses they are actually using — and almost none can tell you, on demand, whether they are over-licensed or under-licensed for a given product. GLPI’s software inventory and license management module closes that gap.
How GLPI tracks installed software
When the GLPI agent runs on a machine, it collects the full list of installed software along with version numbers. This data flows into GLPI’s Software section, where each application gets its own record showing every installation across your fleet.
Open any software record and you see two numbers that matter: the number of installations detected and the number of licenses you have entered. When those numbers do not match, you have a problem — or an opportunity.
Matching installations to licenses
GLPI handles license management through a hierarchy: Software > License > Installation. Each license record carries:
- License type (OEM, volume, subscription, site, per-user, per-device)
- Number of allowed installations or seats
- Purchase date, expiration date, and associated contract
- Serial number or product key
- Linked installations (which specific computers are consuming this license)
The process is straightforward: create the license in GLPI with its allowed count, then associate the detected installations with that license. GLPI shows you the usage in real time — 47 installations against 50 purchased seats, for example.
Identifying over-licensing and under-licensing
Both cost you money, in different ways.
Over-licensing
You have 200 Microsoft Visio licenses but only 85 active installations. That is 115 licenses generating renewal invoices for software nobody is using. GLPI makes this visible by showing license utilization percentages. Run a saved search for licenses where installations are less than 50% of purchased seats, and you have your renegotiation list for the next renewal cycle.
Under-licensing
You have 30 AutoCAD seats but 42 installations. This is a compliance risk. In an audit, the vendor will charge you for the overage plus penalties. GLPI flags this automatically when installations exceed the licensed count. The fix is either purchasing additional licenses or uninstalling the software from machines where it is not actively needed.
Understanding license types
Configure the license type correctly, because the counting rules differ:
- OEM — tied to specific hardware; cannot be transferred when the machine is disposed
- Volume — a pool of seats; can be reassigned between machines
- Subscription — time-limited; needs an expiration date and renewal alert
- Per-user — one license covers all devices a user operates; count by user, not by installation
- Site license — unlimited installations within a defined scope; no counting needed, but track the contract terms
Preparing for a software audit
Software vendors audit their customers. When they do, they ask for a report of all installations of their product across your environment. With GLPI, generating this report takes minutes:
- Open the software record for the audited product
- Export the installation list (computer name, user, version, installation date)
- Cross-reference against your license records
- Attach the associated purchase orders and contracts as evidence
Organizations that cannot produce this data quickly tend to settle audits at unfavorable terms. Having it ready — accurate, timestamped, backed by purchase records — is the difference between a clean audit and an expensive one.
The financial impact
License spending is typically the second-largest IT budget line after personnel. Even a 10% reduction in unused licenses across a mid-size organization can recover tens of thousands of euros annually. GLPI does not do the negotiating for you, but it gives you the numbers you need to negotiate from a position of knowledge rather than uncertainty.