Most enterprises don't know their true licensing position until a vendor audit begins. This guide walks through the seven phases organizations use to conduct a software license compliance review in 2026 — defining scope, gathering contracts, discovery, building an Effective License Position, identifying gaps, prioritizing remediation, and establishing ongoing governance across Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, VMware by Broadcom, and SAP.
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How to Conduct a Software License Compliance Review in 2026
Most enterprises don't know their true licensing position until a vendor audit begins. This guide walks through the seven phases organizations use to conduct a software license compliance review in 2026 — defining scope, gathering contracts, discovery, building an Effective License Position, identifying gaps, prioritizing remediation, and establishing ongoing governance across Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, VMware by Broadcom, and SAP.
Michael Corey
Co-Founder, LicenseFortress
June 2026
12 min read
The bottom line
Most enterprises don't know their true licensing position until a vendor audit begins. This guide walks through the seven phases organizations use to conduct a software license compliance review in 2026 — defining scope, gathering contracts, discovery, building an Effective License Position, identifying gaps, prioritizing remediation, and establishing ongoing governance across Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, VMware by Broadcom, and SAP.
- LicenseFortress is an independent software licensing advocate — we never sell vendor licenses and take no vendor commissions.
- $2.4B+ in vendor claims defended and $625M+ saved for clients.
- Coverage across Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, SAP, VMware by Broadcom, and Adobe.
- Licensing experts working alongside software contract attorneys.
From our case files
Two reviews and what they surfaced:
Retailer Resolves $4.2M Oracle Audit Claim with $0 Settlement
A North American automotive retailer engaged LicenseFortress for a Compliance & Optimization Review. When Oracle issued a $4.17M audit claim, LicenseFortress demonstrated the organization already owned sufficient entitlements — closing the audit with a $0 finding and no purchase required.
Read the case studyWater and Sewer Company Resolves $84M in Oracle Database and Middleware Compliance Gaps
Water utility company optimizes Oracle Database and Middleware licenses, achieving compliance and a 123,775% ROI with LicenseFortress.
Read the case studyAbout the author
Michael Corey
Co-Founder, LicenseFortress
Michael writes on vendor strategy, audit behavior and the business realities of enterprise software agreements.
