Software Licensing SME

Role Purpose

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct a full inventory of software licenses, subscriptions, and entitlements across all ~80 systems in the application inventory, cross-referencing against the existing tower/sub-category taxonomy (Enterprise, Data Integration & AI, Clinical, Commercial).
• Identify license type for each application: perpetual, subscription/SaaS, usage-based, site license, named-user, concurrent-user, or embedded/OEM.
• Confirm license ownership entity (WWCT vs. Fortrea-held) and flag ambiguous cases requiring legal or procurement verification.
• Pay particular attention to proprietary and in-house tools (e.g., MOODS, RIVRS, SMART, ANSWRS) to confirm whether third-party components embedded within them carry separate licensing obligations.

• Review vendor contracts for change-of-control, assignment, and anti-assignment clauses that may block or complicate license transfer to Fortrea.
• Flag contracts requiring vendor consent, renegotiation, or novation as a condition of transfer.
• Identify licenses tied to entity-specific terms (e.g., named to WWCT legal entity) that will not automatically carry over post-close.

• Assess current compliance posture: are deployed instances, user counts, or usage levels within contracted entitlements?
• Identify over-deployment, shelfware (paid-for but unused licenses), and audit exposure, particularly for GxP-relevant systems where compliance gaps carry regulatory as well as financial risk.
• Evaluate license terms for systems flagged as rationalization candidates (functional overlap, e.g., duplicate ITSM or overlapping EDC/eCOA platforms) to inform which contract to retain.

• Build a license transition roadmap identifying licenses transferring as-is, licenses requiring renewal/renegotiation before or at close, licenses to be terminated in line with system disposition decisions, and net-new licenses required for Fortrea-side tooling.
• Flag near-term renewal or expiration dates that intersect with the 12-month integration timeline and Wave 1 move groups, to avoid lapses in coverage for systems still in active use during migration.
• Estimate cost impact of required renewals, true-ups, or renegotiations, and highlight any opportunities for consolidated/enterprise licensing agreements post-integration.

• Work directly with the CMDB/application inventory owner to enrich the master Excel inventory with license status, transferability, and renewal-risk fields.
• Partner with Legal/Procurement on contract review and vendor negotiations.
• Coordinate with the cybersecurity SME workstream where license terms intersect with data processing agreements, vendor risk certifications, or third-party access rights.
• Support executive reporting by surfacing clear decision points and cost/risk exposure for CXO-level review.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in software asset management (SAM), IT license compliance, or vendor contract management, ideally within M&A carve-out or integration contexts.
• Working knowledge of major licensing models across enterprise software categories relevant to this engagement: ERP/back-office (e.g., Workday), collaboration platforms (SharePoint), CRM/procurement (Salesforce), analytics/AI platforms, and clinical/life-sciences applications (CTMS, EDC, LIMS, eTMF).
• Experience reviewing vendor contracts for assignment, change-of-control, and termination-for-convenience provisions.
• Familiarity with life sciences / clinical trial technology vendors and GxP-relevant compliance considerations is strongly preferred, given that roughly half the WWCT portfolio is GxP-relevant.
• Proficiency with Excel-based inventory management; ability to work within an existing structured taxonomy rather than building tooling from scratch.
• Strong written communication skills; ability to translate contract and licensing detail into clear, decision-ready summaries for non-specialist and executive audiences.

Preferred Experience

• Prior involvement in a technology due diligence or post-merger integration engagement, ideally in life sciences, CRO, or pharma services.
• Experience with Software Asset Management (SAM) tools and/or ServiceNow-based CMDB environments.
• Exposure to in-house/proprietary software licensing questions (embedded open-source, OEM components, custom-built platforms).
• Certification in IT Asset Management (e.g., CSAM, CITAM) or relevant procurement/contracts credential.

Key Deliverables

• License inventory enrichment layered onto the existing 180-system application inventory (license type, ownership entity, transferability, renewal date, compliance status).
• License risk register flagging assignment/change-of-control blockers, compliance exposure, and near-term renewal deadlines.
• Transition plan mapping each license to a disposition path (transfer / renew / renegotiate / terminate / net-new), sequenced against Wave 1 and the 12-month timeline.
• Cost and risk summary for CXO-level reporting, aligned to Cognizant brand and presentation standards.

Success Criteria

• Zero unplanned license lapses or compliance gaps during migration and cutover.
• All GxP-relevant systems have a confirmed, compliant licensing path before Wave 1 migration begins.
• Clear, executive-ready visibility into license-driven cost and risk to support system disposition and rationalization decisions.