Unwanted, of course, but a software audit should no longer be unexpected. The number of software vendor audits has been increasing in the last 10 years now as a means of ensuring full compliance with licensing terms, and, of course, full payment for current software usage. Software is a revenue-generating activity for many (though not all) software companies. It is also a means to protect their intellectual property, and vendors guard their rights fiercely – it is the life’s blood of their business.