Software Metering

What is software metering?

Software metering is the practice of measuring how software is actually used: who launches it, how often, for how long, and which features they touch. It is the counterpart to license management, which records what the company is entitled to. Metering tells you what is genuinely consumed, and the gap between the two is where every cost decision lives.

How software metering works

• Usage is collected from an agent, from application logs, or from the vendor API.
• Metrics typically include last login, session frequency, session duration, and feature use.
• Data is aggregated per user, per team, and per license tier.
• Thresholds define what counts as active, dormant, and abandoned.
• Findings feed reclaim, downgrade, and renewal negotiation decisions.

Why SaaS made metering harder, not easier

On-premises metering had an agent on the machine and could see everything. SaaS moved the software off the endpoint, and the vendor now decides what usage data you get. Some expose a detailed last-active field, some report only a login date, and some provide nothing at all. Credible SaaS metering therefore combines vendor APIs, single sign-on events, and OAuth activity instead of relying on one source.

Examples and use cases

A company holds 240 seats on a design tool at the premium tier. Metering shows 96 users active in the last 60 days, 51 who log in but never touch a premium feature, and 93 who have not opened it since onboarding. One view supports three separate decisions: reclaim 93 seats, downgrade 51, and renegotiate the tier mix at renewal. Corma collects that usage across the estate, so the same analysis runs on every application rather than the one somebody thought to check.

Related concepts

• SaaS management platform
• SaaS subscription management to cut software cost
• IAM for IT teams

FAQ

What is the difference between software metering and license management?

License management tracks entitlements: what the company bought and is allowed to use. Metering measures actual usage. Comparing the two is what reveals the waste.

What counts as an inactive user?

It depends on the tool. Thirty days without a login is a common threshold for daily-use applications, while 90 days suits tools used episodically, such as design or analytics platforms.

Can you meter every SaaS application?

No. Coverage depends on what each vendor exposes. Single sign-on events and OAuth activity fill part of the gap when the vendor API gives nothing useful.

Does software metering raise privacy questions?

It can. Under the GDPR, usage data about identified employees is personal data, so purpose, retention, and proportionality should be documented before collection begins.

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