We routinely reduce $100M+ publisher demands to six figures. Every response you send increases your exposure. Talk to us first.
$0 upfront. We only get paid from the reduction we achieve.
$170M → $200K
Open Text audit — City of New York
$35M → $7.5M
Publisher audit — Bank of New York Mellon
$100M → $115K
Publisher audit — Fortune 500 company
We know because we used to run them.
When a Microsoft, Oracle, or IBM sales rep can't close a deal, they flag the customer for an audit. It's not about compliance — it's about revenue.
The publisher sends a formal letter citing their contractual right to audit. KPMG or another firm is appointed to "assess" your environment. This looks official. It's designed to.
After collecting your data, the publisher presents a demand with no technical basis. $10M, $50M, $170M — the numbers are calculated to maximize pressure, not reflect reality.
We've been on both sides of this table for 25 years. We know how publishers construct demands because we used to build them. We prove what you actually owe — and the demand drops 78-99%.
Every email, every spreadsheet, every meeting becomes evidence for a larger demand. Say nothing until you have independent counsel.
No server counts, no user lists, no license reports. The auditor will use any data point to inflate the demand.
We'll assess your situation in 15 minutes and tell you exactly what to do next. No cost, no obligation. This is the call that saves you millions.
25 years of audit defense across 200+ software vendors
Microsoft
Oracle
IBM
SAP
Adobe
VMware / Broadcom
Open Text
BSA / Multi-Publisher
Stop all communication with the auditor immediately. Do not respond to the letter, do not send any data, and do not schedule any meetings until you have independent counsel. Every piece of information you share becomes ammunition for a larger demand. Contact UMS immediately — we've handled hundreds of these and can advise you within hours.
$0 upfront. UMS operates on a shared-savings model — we only get paid from the reduction we achieve in the audit demand. If we reduce a $50M demand to $500K, we earn a percentage of the $49.5M in savings. If we don't reduce the demand, you don't pay.
Software audits are primarily revenue-generation exercises. Publishers like Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM use audits to extract additional revenue. Microsoft alone generates over $1 billion annually from audit-related revenue. Audits are often triggered when a sales rep misses their quota or a customer resists an upsell.
Yes. Publisher demands are typically inflated 10-100x. Open Text demanded $170M from NYC — UMS reduced it to ~$200K. BNY Mellon faced $35M, reduced to $7.5M. A Fortune 500 received $100M, settled for $115K. These aren't outliers — they're the pattern when you have someone who knows how the numbers are constructed.
Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, SAP, Adobe, and VMware/Broadcom are the most aggressive. The BSA (Business Software Alliance) also conducts multi-publisher audits. Since Broadcom's VMware acquisition, VMware audit activity has increased significantly.
The sooner you engage independent counsel, the stronger your defense position. We've been on both sides of this table for 25 years.
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