How to request a software licence
Category:
Procurement & Access | Last reviewed: May 2026
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Who
this is for
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Any ONYX Insight staff or contractor who needs a software
application, an additional seat on an existing platform, or a higher tier of
an application they already have.
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Approver
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Your line manager confirms the business need. IT (Nicki
Urwin, IT Manager) confirms technical fit and seat availability. Toby Rogers
approves spend up to the standard threshold; CEO sign-off is required above
it.
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Typical
lead time
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Same-day to 1 business day where a spare seat exists on an
existing platform. 3 - 5 business days when a new seat must be purchased and
a PO raised. Longer if the product is new to ONYX and requires security
review.
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Preferred
supplier
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Insight is the preferred supplier for software licences
(per the IT Procurement Policy, ONYX-IT-L2-0005). Buying direct from a vendor
needs prior IT approval.
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Related
policies
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IT Procurement Policy (ONYX-IT-L2-0005); IT Acceptable Use
Policy (ONYX-IMS-L1-115); Internal IT Provisioning & Licensing SOP
(IT-SOP-001).
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Overview
Use this article whenever you
need a software application that you do not already have access to: a brand-new
tool, an extra seat on a platform that other people use, an upgraded tier (e.g.
Adobe Acrobat Reader to Acrobat Pro DC, Power BI free to Power BI Pro), or a
vendor product to evaluate.
ONYX licences software in three
different ways and the path you take depends on which category the product is
in. The summary is:
•
Provisioned by default - already assigned to you
through Microsoft 365 and Entra ID. Nothing to request.
•
Optional, self-serve via Intune Company Portal -
approved tools you can install yourself.
•
Paid seat by request - everything else, including most
named products in this article.
Before you raise a ticket
Save yourself the wait by
checking these first:
1. Open the Intune Company Portal on your laptop. If the
application is listed there, install it directly - no ticket needed.
2. Check whether a colleague already has the tool. Many
platforms (Power BI, Adobe, JetBrains, Figma) are paid per seat, and IT will
often reassign an unused seat before buying a new one.
3. Confirm with your line manager that the spend is in
your team's budget. Tickets without manager backing get held up at the approval
stage.
4. For new tools that ONYX has never used, expect an extra
security and data-protection review before approval, in line with our supplier
assurance controls (A.5.19 / A.5.20).
How to request a licence
5. Open a new IT request in the service portal (Zoho Desk)
and select the Software / Application Request category.
6. Use a clear subject in the form "[Product] licence
request - [your name]" (for example, "Adobe Acrobat Pro licence
request - Jane Smith"). This matches how IT triages the queue and is
faster than free-form titles.
7. Fill in the request using the checklist below.
8. If the annualised cost is above the standard approval
threshold (~£20k), flag this clearly in the ticket so IT can route it through
the right approvers.
9. Watch the ticket for follow-up questions. IT will let
you know when the seat is assigned, and where to download or sign in.
What to include in your request
Tickets that arrive with all of
the following information are usually closed within one business day. Tickets
missing fields tend to bounce back and forth.
• Your full name, department, and line manager.
• Product name and the specific edition or tier (e.g.
Power BI Pro vs. Premium Per User, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC vs. full Creative
Cloud, JetBrains IntelliJ Ultimate vs. PyCharm Professional).
• Whether this is a new seat, a replacement seat from
someone who has left, or a renewal.
• Business justification - what you will use it for, why
an existing tool cannot do the job, and which project or customer it supports.
• Indicative cost per user per year if you know it. IT
will validate against quotes from Insight.
• Duration if it is short-term (e.g. duration of a
project, three-month trial).
• Written line manager approval - paste their reply into
the ticket or copy them on the request.
Approval and budget thresholds
Approvals follow the IT
Procurement Policy (ONYX-IT-L2-0005). The matrix below summarises who needs to
sign off depending on the annualised cost:
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Spend bracket (annualised,
GBP)
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Approvers required
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Free / £0
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Line manager (business need) and IT Support (technical
fit, security review for new tools).
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Up to standard threshold
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Line manager, IT Manager (Nicki Urwin), and Toby Rogers
(Head of Cyber Security / IT spend) before the PO is raised. Finance issues
the PO.
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Above the standard threshold (~£20k+)
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All of the above plus CEO sign-off. Allow extra lead time
so the request can be discussed at SLT before commitment.
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The standard threshold above
which CEO sign-off is required has historically been around £20,000 per year,
but check with Finance for the current figure before quoting it back to a
vendor.
Per-product quick reference
The most common requests at
ONYX, and how each one is handled:
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Product
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Status
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How you get it
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Notes / approver
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Clockify
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Provisioned by default
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Already in your Azure group (AAD-Azure-All_Users_Dynamic).
If you cannot sign in to onyxinsight.clockify.me, raise a ticket and IT will
send you the console invitation.
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Free to all staff; no licence request needed. Process
queries about Clockify entries go to Won or Bilal, not IT.
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JetBrains IDEs (PyCharm etc.)
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Optional - by request
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Install via the Intune Company Portal where possible.
Raise a ticket if you need a seat assigned.
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Platform owner / admin: Toby Rogers. Standard for the
Software Development team; other roles need a written business case.
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Adobe Creative Cloud
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Paid seat - by request
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Raise a ticket with the specific apps required (e.g.
Acrobat Pro DC, Photoshop, full CC). IT will assign a seat from the Adobe
Admin Console.
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Platform administrator: IT Manager (Nicki Urwin). Acrobat
Reader is free and does not need a licence.
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Power BI
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Paid seat - by request
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Raise a ticket. Specify Power BI Pro (most common) or
Premium Per User. IT will assign the licence in Microsoft 365.
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Required for authoring and sharing reports. Free Microsoft
Fabric access is already in the base licence stack for read-only consumption.
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Figma
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Paid seat - by request
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Raise a ticket. State whether you need Viewer, Editor /
Professional, or Dev Mode access.
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Currently has no platform manager on the register, so
requests are reviewed by IT and the requester's line manager.
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S3 Browser
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Approved tool - free install
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Install via the Intune Company Portal. Raise a ticket only
if it is not visible to you.
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Listed as an approved browser/tool on ONYX-IMS-L1-008. The
Pro version is paid and follows the standard licence request route.
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Renewals, transfers, and cancellations
Licences are managed centrally
so the company can keep the seat count and renewal dates accurate (see License
Renewal Dates in the Internal IT Team space).
• If you are leaving a role and no longer need a tool,
raise a ticket to release the seat - it will be re-used or cancelled at the
next renewal.
• If a colleague has left and you want to inherit their
seat, mention this in your request so IT can reassign rather than buy a new
one.
• Annual renewals are handled by IT in line with the
supplier's renewal date. You do not need to raise a renewal ticket unless your
usage has changed materially.
FAQ
I just need to read a Power BI report. Do I still need a licence?
No - read-only consumption of
Power BI reports embedded in a workspace shared with your account does not need
Power BI Pro. You only need a paid licence to author, share, or publish
reports.
Why can't I just buy it on my company card?
Direct purchases bypass the
Procurement Policy: there is no security review, the asset is not tracked, the
licence is not registered against your account, and IT cannot help when
something goes wrong. Always go through the ticketing process even if the cost
is small.
Can I get a JetBrains personal licence reimbursed?
No - all JetBrains seats are
managed centrally by Toby Rogers and assigned through the corporate account.
Raise a ticket and we will allocate or purchase a seat as needed.
My request is urgent because a customer call is tomorrow.
Flag urgency in the ticket and
message your line manager directly. Where a seat already exists, IT can usually
action it the same day. New purchases requiring a PO cannot bypass the
procurement steps even for urgent cases.
Does S3 Browser need a licence?
The standard version is free and
is on the approved tools list under ONYX-IMS-L1-008. You can install it
yourself via the Intune Company Portal. If you need the paid Pro version,
follow the standard licence request route.
Related articles and policies
• IT Procurement Policy (ONYX-IT-L2-0005) - Employee HUB
SharePoint.
• Internal IT Provisioning & Licensing SOP
(IT-SOP-001) - Internal IT Team space, Confluence.
• Authorised Browsers SOP (ONYX-IMS-L1-008) - Internal IT
Team space, Confluence.
• Assets: Software Platforms register - Cyber Security
space, Confluence (current platform owners and administrators).
• How to request a new joiner IT setup (related
self-service article).