But CIOs are finding it hard to cope with the "sheer complexity" of licensing schemes, according to Matt Fisher, director at Frontrange Solutions.

"Licensing schemes have become increasingly unwieldy and difficult to manage, meaning that, despite their best efforts, organisations are struggling to get a grip on their licensing software," said Fisher.

"Coupled with the fact that there is no commonality across differing vendors' schemes has made life considerably more difficult and likely brought unintentional misuse of software," he added.

Fisher advised CIOs to implement a standard licensing practice to eliminate complexity. "The good news for organisations is that there is already a mature and professional software asset management community in place to help them address and manage licensing. Working with this community would be a step towards halting the growing software piracy problem," he said.