Example: How Can a License Have a Deficit and a Surplus at the Same Time?
In some cases, License Analytics reports may indicate that you have both a license surplus and a license deficit, and that (because of the deficit) a particular title or family is out of compliance. Read on for an example of a situation where this may happen.
How Is Compliance Determined?
License Analytics determines compliance by comparing the number of installations of a title under a given contract with the number of purchases (and entitlements) to that title under that same contract.
Each purchase, when considered with upgrade and downgrade rules, contributes to some set of entitlements (rights to run) different titles (versions and editions) of the same product family. To be in compliance means that there are at least as many entitlements for a single title, purchased under a single contract, as there are installations for that title and contract.
How Can a License Have a Deficit and a Surplus at the Same Time?
This is actually a fairly common occurrence. Consider the following example:
| Title | Entitlements | Installations |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 | 10 | 11 |
| Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 | 15 | 3 |
| Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007 | 18 | 2 |
| Total entitlements | 18 | |
| Total installations | 16 |
In this case there is a deficit of -1 (one more installation of Office Pro Plus 2013 than entitlements), but there is also a surplus of 2 licenses: 18 copies were purchased, but there are only 16 installations.
The same kind of situation can occur if one part of an organization (covered by one contract) is using more copies than were purchased, while another part of the organization is using fewer copies than acquired under its contract.
For more information on analyzing your data, select a product in the left pane of License Analytics, and then select the Worksheet tab. From here, you can view information on your purchases, licenses, entitlements, and contracts. Also see the How Do I...? topics for procedures you can follow to learn more about your current licensing status.