What is Software Metering?
Key takeaways
Software metering is the practice of tracking when, how often, and by whom software applications are used across an organization
Metering provides the usage data essential for licence optimization, compliance verification, and cost reduction
Organizations commonly reclaim 15–30% of software spend in the first year of a mature metering + licence-management programme
Key metrics include execution frequency, active usage time, last-used dates, and user context
Software metering differs from software inventory: inventory tells you what is installed; metering tells you what is actually used
CerteroX SAM delivers comprehensive software metering via its AppsMonitor capability, with 97% of customers recommending Certero
What is Software Metering?
Software metering is the automated process of monitoring and recording software usage across an organization's IT environment. It answers critical questions that software inventory alone cannot:
Is the software actually being used?
How often is it used?
Who is using it?
When was it last used?
While software inventory tells you what applications are installed on devices, metering reveals whether those installations represent active, productive use or unused shelfware consuming licence budget.
The fundamental insight: You cannot optimise what you cannot measure.
Why Software Metering matters
The problem of shelfware
Industry research consistently shows that a meaningful share of installed software goes unused in typical enterprise environments — commonly cited in the 20–40% range, though the exact figure depends on estate composition and methodology. This unused software, often called "shelfware," represents:
Impact area | Consequence |
|---|
Impact area | Consequence |
|---|---|
Wasted licence spend | Paying maintenance and subscription fees for software nobody uses |
Over-purchasing | Buying more licences than needed, based on installation counts rather than actual usage |
Compliance risk | Audit exposure when deployed licences exceed entitlements |
Renewal inefficiency | Renewing subscriptions without data to justify the cost |
The value of usage data
Software metering transforms licence management from guesswork into data-driven decisions:
Cost optimization
Identify unused licences for reclamation or non-renewal
Right-size subscriptions based on actual usage patterns
Justify software investments with usage evidence
Negotiate renewals from a position of knowledge
Compliance assurance
Match licence type to actual usage (e.g. "light user" vs "full user" licences)
Verify concurrent-user licence compliance
Support audit defence with usage evidence
Identify unauthorised software installations
Operational efficiency
Automate licence harvesting based on inactivity
Plan application rollouts using adoption metrics
Measure ROI on software investments
Inform software standardisation decisions
How Software Metering works
Data collection methods
Modern software metering platforms collect usage data through several mechanisms:
Agent-based metering
Software agents installed on endpoints monitor application execution in real time:
Data captured | Description |
|---|
Data captured | Description |
|---|---|
Executable name | Which application files are running |
Execution time | When the application starts and stops |
Active usage time | Time the application has focus (not just running in background) |
User context | Which user account launched the application |
Device context | Which machine the application ran on |
Advantages: Most comprehensive data, captures usage patterns over time, works for remote devices.
Process monitoring
Operating-system process monitoring tracks running applications:
Windows Event Log integration
Process enumeration and tracking
Service monitoring
File-system monitoring
Tracks executable file access:
Last-access timestamps
Execution frequency
File version information
Key metering metrics
Metric | What it measures | Why it matters |
|---|
Metric | What it measures | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Execution count | Number of times an application was launched | Indicates popularity and adoption |
Total run time | Cumulative time the application was running | Shows overall usage volume |
Active usage time | Time with application in focus (foreground) | Distinguishes active use from background processes |
Last-used date | Most recent execution | Identifies candidates for reclamation |
User count | Unique users who launched the application | Determines actual licence requirement |
Peak concurrent | Maximum simultaneous users | Critical for concurrent-licence compliance |
Metering workflow
Software Metering vs Software Inventory
Understanding the distinction between inventory and metering is essential for effective Software Asset Management.
Aspect | Software Inventory | Software Metering |
|---|
Aspect | Software Inventory | Software Metering |
|---|---|---|
Question answered | "What is installed?" | "What is being used?" |
Data captured | Application name, version, installation date | Execution time, frequency, user, last-used |
Frequency | Periodic scans (daily, weekly) | Continuous monitoring |
Licence optimization | Identifies deployments | Identifies waste |
Audit defence | Shows what's deployed | Proves usage justifies licences |
Both capabilities are required for comprehensive Software Asset Management:
Inventory establishes the deployment baseline
Metering reveals which deployments are actually needed
Together they enable accurate Effective Licence Position (ELP) calculation
Licence optimization through metering
Identifying unused licences
Software metering enables automated identification of reclamation candidates:
Inactivity thresholds
No usage in 30 days: Flag for review
No usage in 60 days: Candidate for reclamation
No usage in 90 days: Strong reclamation candidate
Example scenario
Organization has 500 Microsoft Visio licences
Metering shows only 280 users accessed Visio in the past 90 days
220 licences are candidates for reclamation or non-renewal
Potential savings: 44% of Visio licence costs in this example — actual outcomes vary by product and user behaviour
Right-sizing licence types
Many software products offer multiple licence tiers based on functionality:
Licence tier | Usage pattern | Cost |
|---|
Licence tier | Usage pattern | Cost |
|---|---|---|
Full / Professional | Daily heavy use | Highest |
Standard | Regular use | Medium |
Basic / Light | Occasional use | Lowest |
Metering reveals actual usage patterns, enabling right-sizing:
Users averaging 2 hours per month don't need Professional licences
Heavy users may need upgraded licences for additional features
Inactive users can be moved to on-demand or pay-per-use models
Concurrent-licence compliance
For software licensed by simultaneous users rather than named users, metering is critical.
Peak-concurrent monitoring ensures:
Licence count covers actual peak usage
No compliance gaps during high-demand periods
Optimization opportunities when peaks are lower than licensed
Software Metering for audit defence
Software vendors increasingly use metering data during licence audits to verify compliance.
How vendors use metering
Vendor | Metering consideration |
|---|
Vendor | Metering consideration |
|---|---|
Microsoft | Usage data for licence-optimization discussions |
Oracle | Named User Plus verification through access logs; options-and-packs usage evidence |
IBM | ILMT sub-capacity reporting — required for sub-capacity licensing recognition |
SAP | User activity analysis for licence-type assignment; indirect-access exposure |
Adobe | Active-user counts for subscription true-ups |
Building your defence
Organizations with robust metering capabilities can:
Demonstrate compliance proactively before audits
Challenge vendor claims with independent usage data
Justify licence counts with evidence of actual need
Negotiate settlements based on documented usage patterns
Best practice: Maintain 12–24 months of metering history for audit defence.
Common software metering challenges
Challenge 1: Data volume
Modern enterprises may track thousands of applications across tens of thousands of devices, generating large data volumes.
Solution: Automated aggregation and intelligent filtering to focus on licensed software, not every executable.
Challenge 2: User privacy
Detailed usage tracking raises privacy concerns, particularly in regions with strict data-protection regulations.
Solution: Configure metering to track application-level data without capturing screen content, keystrokes, or personal communications. Ensure compliance with GDPR and local regulations.
Challenge 3: Background processes
Some applications run continuously in the background (security tools, communication clients), distorting usage metrics.
Solution: Distinguish between "running time" and "active usage time" by monitoring application focus and user interaction.
Challenge 4: Terminal Services and VDI
Shared-desktop environments complicate per-user metering.
Solution: Use user-aware metering that tracks individual sessions within multi-user environments.
Challenge 5: Cloud and SaaS applications
Traditional metering focuses on installed software. Cloud-based applications require different approaches.
Solution: Combine endpoint metering with SaaS-management capabilities that track browser-based access, SSO logs, and API-based integrations.
Software Metering best practices
1. Define metering scope
Not every executable needs metering. Focus on:
Licensed commercial software (the cost-optimization opportunity)
High-cost applications (largest savings potential)
Compliance-critical software (audit risk)
Redundant applications (standardisation candidates)
2. Establish usage baselines
Before making optimization decisions:
Collect at least 60–90 days of usage data
Account for seasonal variations (month-end, quarter-end peaks)
Identify legitimate low-frequency use cases (annual processes, emergency tools)
3. Automate licence harvesting
Configure policies to automatically reclaim licences based on inactivity:
4. Integrate with licence management
Metering data should flow directly into:
Effective Licence Position (ELP) calculations
Licence-reconciliation reports
Renewal-planning workflows
Procurement-approval processes
5. Review and act regularly
Schedule monthly or quarterly reviews of:
Unused-licence reports
Licence-harvesting candidates
Usage-trend analysis
Optimization recommendations
How CerteroX SAM delivers software metering
CerteroX SAM includes comprehensive software metering via the AppsMonitor capability, providing the usage intelligence organizations need for licence optimization.
AppsMonitor capabilities
Capability | Description |
|---|
Capability | Description |
|---|---|
Application usage tracking | Monitors execution time, active usage, and user context |
Metered-file management | Configurable list of applications to meter |
User-level reporting | Usage data by individual user for licence assignment |
Device-level reporting | Usage aggregated by machine for deployment optimization |
Historical analysis | Trend reporting over configurable time periods |
Integration with ELP | Usage data feeds directly into compliance calculations |
How it works
Client agents installed on Windows and macOS devices monitor application execution
Usage data is collected continuously and uploaded to the central platform
AppsMonitor aggregates and normalises data across all endpoints
Reports and dashboards reveal usage patterns, inactive licences, and optimization opportunities
Automated recommendations identify candidates for licence reclamation
Supported platforms
Windows: Full agent with comprehensive metering
macOS: Native agent with usage tracking
Linux: Agentless inventory (metering via other methods)
Recognition
#1 rated on Gartner Peer Insights for SAM Tools
Four-time Gartner Customers' Choice for SAM Tools (2019, 2020, 2021, 2024)
97% of customers recommend Certero
Oracle Certified Partner — the only ITAM/SAM vendor with this accreditation
Organizations using CerteroX SAM gain visibility into actual software usage, enabling data-driven decisions that reduce cost and support compliance.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between software metering and software inventory?
Software inventory tells you what applications are installed on devices across your organization. Software metering goes further by tracking whether those installations are actually being used, how often, by whom, and when they were last accessed. Inventory answers "what do we have?" while metering answers "what do we use?" Both are essential for effective Software Asset Management.
How much data does software metering collect?
Modern metering solutions focus on application-level data: which applications run, when they start and stop, active usage time, and user context. They do not typically capture screen content, keystrokes, or personal communications. Organizations should configure metering policies to balance optimization needs with privacy requirements and regulatory compliance.
How long should we keep metering data?
Best practice is to maintain 12–24 months of metering history. This provides sufficient data for usage-trend analysis, audit defence, seasonal pattern identification, and renewal planning. Most software licensing audits request usage data covering the previous 2–3 years, so longer retention supports audit readiness.
Can software metering help with cloud and SaaS applications?
Traditional endpoint metering focuses on installed software. For cloud and SaaS applications, organizations need complementary SaaS-management capabilities that track browser-based access, SSO logs, and API-based integrations. CerteroX SaaS Management combines all three — browser-extension telemetry, IdP connectors, and 200+ deep SaaS connectors — to cover the full application landscape.
What is licence harvesting?
Licence harvesting is the process of reclaiming unused software licences from devices where the software has not been used for a defined period (typically 60–90 days). The reclaimed licences can then be reassigned to users who need them or retired to reduce licence counts at renewal. Software metering provides the usage data that enables automated licence harvesting.
How does metering support vendor audits?
During software audits, vendors may challenge whether you actually need all the licences you claim. Metering data provides evidence of actual usage to justify your licence position. It can also identify compliance gaps before audits occur, allowing proactive remediation. Organizations with robust metering history are better positioned to negotiate audit outcomes.
What is the difference between active usage time and total run time?
Total run time is how long an application process was running, which can include background execution where the user was not interacting with it. Active usage time measures the period during which the application had user focus — the window was in the foreground and receiving input. Active usage is the more accurate signal of licence need; total run time can inflate usage figures for always-on utilities.
Does software metering work for web-based and SaaS applications?
Endpoint metering alone does not. SaaS applications run in a browser or on the vendor's infrastructure, so endpoint execution data is of limited value. For SaaS you need browser-extension telemetry (URL-level visibility), IdP logs (SSO-federated access), and deep SaaS connectors (activity data inside each app). A SaaS-capable SAM/SMP tool combines all three.
How does metering support licence harvesting automation?
Once metering data and entitlement data are joined, an automation rule can flag any licence that has not been used for a defined period (typically 60–90 days) and trigger a workflow: notify the user, reassign the licence, or reclaim for pool reuse. The key is joining metering data with the licence record so the automation acts on licensed software, not every executable.
What metering metrics matter most for audit defence?
Three: last-used date (proves dormancy for reclamation arguments), active usage time (justifies tier choice — Professional vs Standard), and peak concurrent use (for concurrent-licence metrics). Twelve to twenty-four months of history is the defensible baseline.
Related resources
About Certero
Certero is an independent software vendor specialising in IT Asset Management, Software Asset Management, SaaS Management, Cloud Management, and AI Management. The CerteroX product family covers SAM, ITAM, SaaS, Cloud, and AI on a shared asset record. Certero is the only four-time Gartner Customers' Choice for SAM Tools (2019, 2020, 2021, 2024), #1 rated on Gartner Peer Insights, an Oracle Certified Partner — the only ITAM/SAM vendor to hold this accreditation — and a FinOps Foundation member with FinOps Certified Platform designation. Founded in 2007 and trusted by organizations in 30+ countries.
Learn more: https://www.certero.com
Last updated: April 2026