By Angie Kilbourne
Shop Site of the Month
St. Matthews Import Service - Louisville, Ky.
www.smiky.com
What's important to St. Matthews is front and center on its home page: certifications and affiliations. Serving both mechanical and collision repair customers, the shop emphasizes its staff's expertise and customer amenities. Special touches include online forms to schedule appointments, a work availability page to provide turnaround times, and a work-in-progress page to check on vehicle status for collision customers.
Nominate your shop's site for a Net Worth profile.
E-mail your Web site address to angiek@asashop.org.
Web Wise
Stop Thief!
Have you determined that the software you use in your business on a daily basis has been legally obtained and you own current licenses on all of the titles? Software companies are stepping up their enforcement and prosecution efforts to protect copyrighted software, and users set themselves up for serious liabilities if they aren't compliant with current laws.
Your safest course of action is to perform an audit. But where do you start? Here's a list of basic steps:
- Conduct a software inventory. List every software title within your organization and note every location (computer or server).
- Determine application use. This will help you decide if you should reallocate unused licenses to other employees or can simply discontinue the license.
- Compile license information. Start with your purchasing records, and organize them by software manufacturer. Centralize the information in digital format, if possible.
- Adjust license counts. Once you know who is using what software and how many licenses you own, you can adjust the distribution, purchase more licenses or eliminate unneeded software.
- Establish and communicate software policies. Develop purchasing, documentation and recordkeeping policies for your software. Ensure all employees understand the importance of compliance.
- Manage continued license compliance. Business needs change. Run periodic inventories, and monitor use to determine if any software can be discontinued.
Though you might be tempted to perform this audit manually, experts advise the most efficient and accurate method is by using a software asset management tool. Not only will it help establish your compliance today, but it can help keep your inventory records up-to-date in the future.
The Software and Information Industry Association's (SIAA) Web site provides educational and reference materials (www.siaa.net/piracy/education.asp), as well as recommended audit software companies (www.siaa.net/piracy/audit.asp).
Some of the most common forms of software piracy include:
- Loading a single-user license title onto multiple computers or a server (softlifting).
- Making, distributing and/or selling copies that appear to be from an authorized source (counterfeiting).
- Renting software without permission from the copyright holder.
- Distributing and/or selling software that has been "unbundled" (separated) from its original package or suite of products as it was sold.
- Downloading copyrighted software from the Internet or FTP sites without permission from the copyright holder.
ASA Web Ways
Ultimate Buyer's Guide Offers Wealth of Info
Looking for something? ASA's online Ultimate Buyer's Guide offers you a wealth of information about companies offering the products and services you need to keep your business moving forward. Whatever you are looking for - tools, equipment, parts, wheels, training, business services or towing - you'll find companies that can help you get the job done. Visit the ASA home page at www.ASAshop.org, and click on the Ultimate Buyer's Guide button.
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