Veterans Affairs: Actions Needed to Address Software License Challenges, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, Committee on Veterans Affairs, House of Representatives : Government Accountability Office (GAO) , May 19 , 2025
Veterans Affairs: Actions Needed to Address Software License Challenges, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, Committee on Veterans Affairs, House of Representatives : Government Accountability Office (GAO) , May 19 , 2025
From the document: "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spends billions of dollars annually for IT and cyber-related investments, including commercial software licenses. In a January 2024 government-wide report, GAO noted that while VA identified its five most widely used software vendors with the highest quantity of licenses installed, VA faced challenges in determining whether it was purchasing too many or too few of these software licenses. Specifically, VA was not tracking the appropriate number of licenses for each item of software currently in use. Additionally, the department did not compare inventories of software licenses that were currently in use to purchase records on a regular basis (see table).
Until VA adequately assesses the appropriate number of licenses, it cannot determine whether it is purchasing too many licenses or too few. GAO recommended that VA track licenses in use within its inventories and compare them with purchase records. VA concurred with the recommendations and is taking preliminary actions to track software license usage. Implementation of these recommendations would allow VA to identify opportunities to reduce costs on duplicate or unnecessary licenses."
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