Concurrent License Usage: What You Need to Know 

Concurrent software licensing is widely used in engineering and technical software environments where applications are shared across large teams. While this model improves access to specialized tools, it can also make it harder to understand how licenses are actually used. 

Many organizations rely on anecdotal peak usage, vendor estimates, or isolated denial events rather than consistent historical data. As a result, teams often lack a clear view of how software demand changes across projects, users, and time periods. 

Without accurate software license usage reporting, organizations may experience: 

• Over-purchasing licenses that are rarely used 

• Underestimating demand during peak hours 

• License denials when all licenses are in use 

• Misalignment between license allocation and actual usage  

• Hidden financial waste from unused or duplicate licenses 

• Audit exposure resulting in penalties and forced true‑ups 

In this article, we will explore: 

• What concurrent software licenses are and how they work 

• What concurrent license usage reporting measures 

• How concurrent license usage is measured 

• Where license denials and bottlenecks occur 

• Why checked-out licenses are not always actively used 

• What concurrent license data can reveal about usage patterns 

We will also look at how Burns & McDonnell analyzed concurrent license usage to better understand software consumption across their organization.  

What Are Concurrent Software Licenses? 

Concurrent software licensing is one of several licensing models used for engineering applications, alongside named-user licensing, node-locked licenses, and token-based licensing.  

In this model, multiple users share a limited number of licenses rather than assigning one license to each individual user. Instead of assigning a license permanently to a specific user or device, a license is checked out when the application starts and returned when the session ends. 

For example, an organization may purchase 50 concurrent licenses for a CAD application. While hundreds of employees may have the software installed, only 50 users can run the application at the same time. 

This model is commonly used for engineering, simulation, and other specialized software where not all users need simultaneous access. 

Compared to named-user licensing, where each individual requires their own license, concurrent licensing allows organizations to: 

• Share licenses across teams or departments 

• Support large user groups with a smaller number of licenses 

• Allocate licenses dynamically based on demand 

• Enable global license sharing across time zones (follow-the-sun usage) 

Because licenses are shared, understanding when, where, and how licenses are used becomes important. This is where concurrent license usage reporting helps organizations monitor and analyze software usage patterns.  

DEMO: See how your concurrent licenses are really used.

What Is Concurrent License Usage Reporting? 

Concurrent license usage reporting tracks how shared software licenses are used across an organization. 

In concurrent licensing environments, applications connect to a license server when they start. The license server records when licenses are checked out, how many are currently in use, and when licenses are returned to the available pool. 

Software license usage reporting tools collect this information and organize it into reports or dashboards that show how licenses are consumed over time. 

These reports can help teams understand: 

• How many licenses are used simultaneously 

• When peak license usage occurs 

• Which users or teams consume licenses 

• Whether license requests are denied due to capacity limits 

By analyzing this data, organizations gain better visibility into how shared licenses are used, helping them understand real usage patterns rather than relying on assumptions or isolated incidents. 

WEBINAR: Concurrent license data only becomes useful when it is properly interpreted. Watch “From Data to Decisions” to learn how organizations turn license usage data into clear, actionable insights. Here’s your invitation to watch the recording. 

How Is Concurrent License Usage Measured? 

Concurrent license usage is measured by tracking how many licenses are in use at the same time during a given period. 

When a user launches a licensed application, a license is checked out from the available pool. As more users start the application, the number of licenses in use increases. When sessions end, licenses are returned to the pool and become available again. 

To understand how shared licenses are used, organizations typically monitor metrics such as: 

• Peak usage – the highest number of licenses used simultaneously 

• Average usage – the typical number of licenses in use over time 

• License utilization – the percentage of the license pool being used 

• Denial events – failed license requests when no licenses are available 

For example, an organization with 100 concurrent licenses may find that peak usage rarely exceeds 70 licenses. In other cases, usage may regularly approach the license limit, increasing the likelihood of license denials. 

By monitoring these metrics over time, organizations can identify usage trends, demand patterns, and potential capacity constraints within shared license environments. 

Where Do License Denials and Bottlenecks Occur? 

In concurrent licensing environments, license denials occur when all available licenses are already in use. When this happens, additional users attempting to launch the application may receive an error or must wait until a license becomes available. 

Denials often happen during periods of high demand, such as: 

• Peak working hours 

• Major project deadlines 

• Training sessions or onboarding periods 

• Large teams using the same application simultaneously 

However, license shortages are not always caused by insufficient licenses. Bottlenecks can also occur when licenses are held longer than necessary or when usage patterns are uneven across teams. 

For example, users may leave applications open during meetings or breaks, preventing those licenses from returning to the available pool. In distributed organizations, teams in different time zones may also compete for the same license pool during overlapping working hours. 

Monitoring when and where denials occur helps organizations identify: 

• Applications that frequently reach license capacity 

• Recurring peak demand periods 

• Usage behaviors that limit license availability 

Understanding these patterns provides valuable context when evaluating how shared licenses are used across the organization.  

Why Checked-Out Licenses Are Not Always Actively Used 

In concurrent licensing environments, a license is typically considered in use as soon as an application is launched. The license remains checked out until the application is closed or the session ends. 

However, a checked-out license does not always mean the software is actively used. 

Users may open an application and leave it running while working on other tasks. In these cases, the license remains occupied even though the software may only be used intermittently. 

Common situations where this occurs include: 

• Applications left open during meetings or breaks 

• Long-running sessions where the software is idle 

• Users launching applications “just in case” they need them later 

• VDI or remote sessions left open while the application is still running 

• Background processes or scripts holding licenses longer than expected 

When this behavior occurs across many users, licenses may appear fully utilized even though actual activity within the application is much lower. 

Understanding the difference between checked-out licenses and active usage helps organizations interpret license data more accurately and better understand how shared licenses are consumed.  

What Concurrent License Data Can Reveal About Usage Patterns 

When concurrent license usage is monitored over time, the data can reveal how software is actually used across an organization. 

Analyzing usage trends helps teams identify patterns such as: 

• Peak demand periods when many users access the same application 

• Applications approaching license limits during busy hours 

• Idle licenses that remain checked out but are not actively used 

• Usage differences across teams, projects, or geographic locations 

These insights help organizations move beyond assumptions and better understand how shared licenses behave in real environments. 

For example, license data may show that demand consistently rises during certain hours of the day, or that specific teams rely heavily on a particular application. In other cases, it may reveal that licenses remain checked out for long periods despite minimal activity. 

By examining these patterns, organizations gain a clearer picture of how shared software resources are consumed and where potential bottlenecks may occur. 

In some licensing models, understanding usage patterns becomes even more important. For example, environments that use token-based licensing allocate software capacity differently from traditional concurrent licenses. 

Insight: What Is Concurrent Token Licensing?
Concurrent token licensing is a variation of concurrent licensing where applications draw tokens from a shared pool based on the tools or features being used. Multiple products can draw tokens from the same pool, giving organizations more flexibility in how software licenses are allocated across users and projects

Concurrency Analysis at Burns & McDonnell 

Burns & McDonnell, a global engineering and construction firm, analyzed concurrent license usage to better understand how software licenses were consumed across their organization. 

By examining license usage data, the company was able to: 

• Consolidate data from 150+ license servers 

• Monitor usage across 400+ engineering applications 

• Identify underutilized or overlapping licenses 

• Evaluate peak demand and overall license utilization 

This analysis helped the organization gain clearer visibility into how shared licenses were distributed across teams and projects. 

LEARN MORE: Here’s the full Burns & McDonnell case study. 

Key Takeaways: Why Concurrent License Usage Matters 

Concurrent licensing allows organizations to share software licenses across multiple users, but understanding how those licenses are actually used requires visibility into usage data. 

Key points from this article: 

• Concurrent licenses allow multiple users to share a limited license pool 

• Usage reporting helps track how licenses are checked out and consumed 

• Concurrency metrics such as peak usage and utilization reveal demand patterns 

• License denials and idle sessions can affect license availability 

• Usage data provides insight into how software is used across teams and projects 

Understanding these patterns helps organizations build a clearer picture of how shared licenses behave in real environments. 

Open iT can support organizations in monitoring and analyzing concurrent license usage through software license usage reporting. Schedule a demo or have a representative call you to see how. 

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