Microsoft: With just over a month to go before new volume licensing
charges come into force, James Rogers finds users still concerned
about the impact of the new regime on business
Last week the Computer Weekly 500 Club of key IT professionals met
in London to discuss the effects of the controversial Microsoft
licensing strategy, which sparked outrage in the user community
when it was announced last year.
Organisations fear they will see a rise in software licensing costs
as a result of the changes.
A user revolt, backed by an award-winning Computer Weekly campaign,
has forced the software giant to twice delay implementation of the
strategy.
With the deadline looming, users are starting to look ahead to the
long-term implications of the new volume licensing charges and
their future relationships with Microsoft.
One of the key issues raised by members of the 500 Club (an
invitation-only club for senior IT managers) was the ongoing need
for information on software licensing and product roadmaps from
Microsoft.
Industry watchers have already expressed their concern that
Microsoft is attempting to control the pace of software upgrades,
and companies that want longer intervals will be penalised under
the new scheme.
Even Microsoft executives have admitted that they did not do the
best job of making users aware of software licensing changes,
eventually spending £1m to explain the changes.
The company has also acknowledged that the issue of software
licensing has been an extremely complex one, although it claims
that its new strategy is designed to improve this.
Nevertheless, Microsoft seems to be prepared to bow to user
pressure for an easy-to-understand flow chart detailing the
licensing options.
However, the long-term implications are users' main concern,
including future compatibility of Microsoft Office products with
those of other suppliers.
Users also urged the software giant to publish a clear roadmap of
product upgrades to help businesses with preparations to make the
move to Software Assurance.
The Microsoft hotline number is 0870-6010100
Computer Weekly 500 Club's written Q and A with Microsoft:
Q: Would you participate in discussions with a new, independent
user group focused on software licensing?
A: Of course we would. We already engage with a number of user
bodies in the UK and are always very keen to get feedback from
customers as to how we can improve our licensing options in the
future.
Q: Under what circumstances can users transfer software licences
across countries under the new licensing terms?
A: We have not altered the provisions within our contracts for
the transfer of the licences. There are some restrictions placed on
transfers between countries due to the nature of company boundaries
and secondly because of US government export restrictions. More
specific details can be found at www.microsoft.com/exporting
Q: What guarantees can you give that future versions of
Microsoft Office products will not be incompatible with
non-Microsoft products.
A: It is difficult for us to give a definitive commitment to
ongoing compatibility with non-Microsoft products as we design our
software to meet our customers' requirements now and in the future.
Of course, it would not make sense for us to release products that
were not compatible with other products being used on the
market.
Q: What plans are there to produce an easy-to-understand
flow-chart of the new software licensing terms?
A: If customers feel that this would help them make better
informed decisions on which is the most appropriate licensing
model, we will consider this. We have provided a great deal of
guidance and support to our customers and partners. For more
information, customers can always visit our Web site:
www.microsoft.com/uk/licensingQ: Do you plan to intensify your process of auditing the licence
status of Microsoft products in user organisations?
A: No. We will be shifting the focus of our activities in this
area. Over time licensing has been very complex - overly so - and
the changes to our licensing programmes announced in May 2001 were
designed to improve this. The complexity has made software asset
management very challenging, particularly for large organisations
that operate decentralised purchasing regimes.
We want to be more proactive in helping customers to gain control
of their licensing through stronger software asset management
disciplines. We are developing tools that will allow our customers
to review their licensing position across all licence types on a
world-wide basis and we hope to make these tools directly available
to customers and move to incorporating software asset management
services for customers with any volume licensing agreement.
Q: What plans are there to publish a clear roadmap of product
upgrades for businesses planning to make the move to Software
Assurance?
A: In a highly competitive market where customers' needs change
rapidly, it is difficult to give a long-term picture or road map of
future product releases. That said, we talk often to customers
about our ongoing development plans and, if you look back
historically, we release upgrades to our software on a regular
basis.
Q: Would Microsoft buy products from a supplier containing the
conditions imposed in its own software licence contracts?
A: In principle, of course we would. As with any commercial
agreement, we would look at whether or not it made sense for us as
a business and make the decision accordingly.
Q: Would you agree that making such a whole-scale software
licensing change within a relatively short period of time has
placed unreasonable strain on user organisations?
A: We don't believe that this has been in a short time frame.
We initially announced the changes in May 2001 and since then have,
in response to feedback from our customers, extended the deadline
twice. We have continued to encourage our customers to evaluate
their licensing options before 31 July 2002.