The Experience Feedback of a Major Telecom Operator

"The second-hand license must become a reflex. You should integrate it into your thinking as an alternative to the publisher."

In 2017, faced with the scheduled end of support for Office 2007, this major French company, a leader in the telecommunications sector, found itself obligated to renew its software fleet of nearly 100,000 licenses. An operation that then involved very significant maintenance costs. The software asset manager decided to turn to the second-hand license market. A judicious choice but one that had to be defended internally.

What software scope was concerned by the second-hand market?

We primarily needed to renew our fleet of Office 2007 licensed office suites, whose maintenance cost us several million euros per year. We then opted for the second-hand market mainly to reduce our maintenance costs and primarily acquired Microsoft Office 2013 and 2016 licenses.

What factors convinced you to choose the right option?

The economic equation proved decisive. The acquisition cost was 75% cheaper. We also considered other publisher solutions, like Oracle, but they were more complex. The timing was right because, in the long term, subscription models will take precedence over perpetual on-premise licenses. The second-hand license is a strategy at a given time but not in the long run.

"We saved several million euros compared to a classic license purchase, and even tens of millions of euros compared to the price of cloud offers."

On what criteria was your marketplace choice based?

Softcorner was the company that offered the most guarantees among the market players we studied. Not only were they very flexible regarding our request, but their processes were very clear. The principle of connecting with buyers seemed more transparent to us than that proposed by brokers.

How did Softcorner accompany you throughout your approach?

They offered us tailor-made support given the very large volume of licenses involved. The complexity of the second-hand market lies in the availability of software. The Softcorner teams not only activated the essential levers to find the network of sellers appropriate to our request, but they also managed to "keep the connections active" during the few months necessary for our internal processes.

What main obstacles did you have to overcome?

We had to convince the internal management. Their concerns mainly focused on the security of the purchased products and the relationship with Microsoft. Indeed, we are a reseller of the brand. But Microsoft prioritizes its cloud offer, so the second-hand market does not constitute a major obstacle. However, we had to take the time upfront to check the license acquisition contracts and work with the Purchasing department to integrate Mangopay, the payment solution for marketplaces, into our processes.

What are the main advantages of using the second-hand market?

Beyond the financial interest, it can be interesting to complete your fleet of second-hand licenses as part of an audit. If you use more licenses than expected, you can notably complete your assets with second-hand software, which is less expensive. The resale of your software assets can also be an interesting option in the long run. But in our case, it is more difficult because the licenses were acquired in very large lots, making them impossible to resell individually.

Four years after your first acquisitions, what feedback do you have?

Today, this principle of second-hand licenses is very well received internally. The management controllers, in particular, are very satisfied! Since 2017, we have thus completed our software fleet with Microsoft Office and Project licenses purchased via Softcorner. The platform is now an integral part of the options considered whenever we need licenses. It just needs to be verified if the license in question is suitable.

What are the next steps?

We plan to use the second-hand market as much as possible, at least until 2026 and possibly beyond for the very old licenses still in use. It is a real opportunity to keep old systems alive at a lower cost, which need little evolution. There are still a few years to optimize software costs before perpetual licenses disappear to make way for 100% cloud models. Remote work has changed the game. Prices are likely to soar, so companies will have to make choices to rationalize their fleet as closely as possible to the real needs of their users. The question of license management becomes essential.

What recommendations can you make?

Go for it without hesitation, but take the time upfront to study each file and each contract. Check the conditions of use of the licenses carefully, as they depend on each publisher. The second-hand market represents an interesting counterbalance to publishers and represents substantial savings for an identical product.

The 3 key points

• Benchmark the different publishers to study all the possibilities for renewing your fleet.
• Compare the different market players: brokers and marketplaces.
• Check the compatibility of your licenses with second-hand purchases to ensure the feasibility of the transaction.

Key figures

• Software fleet of 100,000 Office 2007 licenses.
• Second-hand purchase price 75% lower than a "classic" license.
• Several million euros in savings achieved.