License Optimizer¶
License Optimizer tracks cloud software licenses running in your cloud estate — operating systems, database engines, and other licensed software — to prevent compliance exposure and reduce license waste.
When to use it¶
- You want visibility into which licensed software is running in the cloud and what it costs.
- You suspect over-licensing or under-utilization of paid licenses.
- You want to evaluate license model changes (e.g., BYOL vs. included license).
Open License Optimizer¶
Go to Optimization > License Optimizer from product navigation.
Connect license sources¶
License Optimizer uses entitlement sources to track licenses. To connect a license source:
- Go to Optimization > License Optimizer > Sources.
- Add the relevant entitlement source (software vendor portal, cloud marketplace, or inventory feed).
- Wait for license inventory to populate.
Review license inventory¶
- Open the License Optimizer overview.
- Filter by provider, account, license type, or software category.
- Review utilization — licenses with low utilization may be consolidation candidates.
- Review compliance risk — licenses with high utilization near their limit need attention.
- Open a license recommendation to see the suggested change and estimated savings.
Best practices¶
- Keep license data sources up to date — stale data leads to incorrect compliance assessments.
- Distinguish between cloud-included licenses (already in the service price) and BYOL (customer-managed).
- Work with procurement and legal before acting on license recommendations that affect vendor agreements.
Related pages¶
- SKU & Region Optimizer — optimize instance types alongside license decisions
- Recommendations — all optimization opportunities