Post close license reconciliation that turns two overlapping software estates into one defensible, consolidated, lower cost position.
Our license reconciliation services take over the moment the deal closes. Two companies become one estate overnight, with duplicate entitlements, conflicting metrics, and usage that no longer matches either set of contracts. We reconcile deployed usage against combined entitlements, defend the position, and consolidate the spend so the merged estate is both compliant and cheaper to run.
The first task is a single source of truth. We merge the two entitlement records, normalise the metrics, and measure actual deployed usage across the combined organisation. That exposes three things at once: where the merged estate is now out of compliance, where it is paying twice for the same capability, and where consolidation can cut cost without breaking a contract. Each of those has a different owner and a different deadline, and we sequence them so the urgent compliance gaps close before any publisher audit lands.
Reconciliation is also the moment latent exposure becomes real. Usage that was inside entitlement at two separate companies can breach a single combined agreement, particularly where licensing is counted per processor, per named user, or by indirect access. We quantify that breach, model the realistic settlement, and build the remediation plan before the publisher does it for you.
We work in defined phases so the deal team always knows what is closing and when. We start with the combined effective licensing position, move to compliance remediation for the urgent gaps, then drive consolidation and renewal strategy to lock in the savings. Because we are independent, the consolidation we recommend is the one that serves the acquirer, never the one that earns a reseller the largest margin.
| Phase | Focus | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Merge entitlements, measure usage | Single combined effective licensing position |
| Defend | Close urgent compliance gaps | Lower audit exposure before a claim lands |
| Consolidate | Remove duplicate spend | Quantified annual saving |
| Optimise | Renewal and metric strategy | Lower run rate at the next true up |
Reconciliation is not an administrative tidy up. It is the window in which the combined estate is either brought into a defensible position or left to drift into an expensive audit. Two companies that were each compliant on their own can breach a single combined agreement the moment they operate as one, because licensing is counted per processor, per named user, or by indirect access through connected systems. The breach is silent. It builds in the background until a publisher notices, and by then the acquirer has the deepest pockets and the least leverage. Acting inside the first 100 days is what keeps the cost of remediation far below the cost of settlement under audit.
The public proof points show the stakes. SAP pursued AB InBev for a reported 600 million dollars and Diageo for a reported 60 million over disputed and inherited licensing tied to indirect access, as reported in court filings and press coverage as of 2024. Those were not new purchases. They were existing usage that a combined or connected environment turned into a claim. Reconciliation done early is the discipline that stops the same pattern forming in your estate.
The cost reduction in reconciliation is not a discount negotiated with a vendor. It is the removal of spend you no longer need. When two estates merge, they routinely carry duplicate agreements with the same publisher, pay different rates for the same product, and hold capacity stranded by an earlier restructuring. We map the combined position, identify the overlap, and right size the metrics so the next true up is smaller. Because we are independent, the consolidation we recommend is the one that lowers your run rate, not the one that protects a reseller margin.
The two estates rarely count the same way. One company licensed a database per processor while the other licensed the same product per named user. One bought a desktop suite as a perpetual license while the other moved to subscription. When those agreements collide in a single organisation, the cheaper metric does not simply win. The publisher reads the combined usage against whichever terms maximise the charge, and a deployment that looked fully covered becomes a shortfall. We normalise the metrics first, model the position under each agreement, and choose the consolidation path that is both compliant and lowest cost rather than the one that happens to be easiest to administer.
You receive a single combined effective licensing position, a prioritised remediation plan for the urgent compliance gaps, a quantified consolidation saving, and a renewal strategy that locks the lower run rate in place. Each item names an owner and a deadline, so the work moves rather than stalling in a steering committee. We provide commercial and licensing advisory, not legal advice, and we recommend your own counsel for the interpretation of any agreement term that affects how usage is counted.
See the method in our post merger license reconciliation guide pillar, and how it plays out in practice: Microsoft consolidation saving 2.4 million dollars, two estates reconciled in under 90 days, 1.8 million dollars of duplicate SaaS removed. Or review the full range of services.
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