Keeping tabs on software licences pays
dividends
David Brook, director, Turnstone Services
It was good to read
Stephan Glathe's letter on software
licensing (Computer Weekly, 23 January). I regularly meet
companies that have not kept a close eye on software licence
requirements, some of which waste hundreds of thousands of
pounds on maintenance and support costs for licences that could
be shelved.
I agree that there is enormous value in maintaining a cohesive
record of all software licences purchased and their associated
annual costs. It is what you then do with this information that
counts.
As a company's software needs change over time, suppliers should
be commercially targeted to meet those needs.
Three lessons can prove invaluable in ensuring that software
licence and maintenance costs are kept low. One is avoiding
automatic annual contract rollovers. This forces suppliers to
engage with the buyer, who is then able to negotiate.
The second lesson is to have regular reviews of support usage,
so the buyer can assess whether the purchased level of support is
still required. There is no point having 20 people waiting to fix
problems if you never have any. Traditionally, support calls are
high in year one, dropping off as bugs are ironed out.
And thirdly, termination clauses for maintenance should include
repayment of unused parts of the maintenance. If you terminate a
contract, it is unfair to expect that you still pay for the rest of
the year's maintenance and support.
These are just some of the ways that companies can keep software
licence and support costs low. In my experience, the effort
required to track changing software needs is more than amply
rewarded.
Tetra supports voice and data communication
Olli Nokso-Koivisto, TETRAsim
Your article "Avon trial reveals limits of police Tetra
network" claims that simultaneous data and voice communication
is impossible in a Tetra network. This is incorrect.
There are handsets on the market that support this feature, such
as devices from EADS. Tetra is different from GSM in this respect
and thus a great tool for these kinds of applications.
Many fears over access to patient data
remain
Paul Malcolm, UK general manager, Sentillion
If NHS chief executive David Nicholson wants the
"NHS to own, love and understand the National
Programme", he must first acknowledge the concerns of those
involved with the development of the project.
The dossier of problems published by the 23 academics highlights
that an implementation of this scope is not straightforward and
reiterates a need for improved confidentiality of patient data.
The NPfIT is about sharing information effectively across
departments and regions, but a project of this magnitude could
easily become compromised due to insufficient protection. The
privacy of sensitive information continues to raise widespread
concern among NHS professionals and the public.
To answer these critics, the NPfIT needs to ensure information
is protected, that only the relevant people have access to it, and
that they have access appropriate only to their position.
Nevertheless, where access is warranted, it is vital that
information can be viewed as quickly as possible because it could
save lives.
No experience, no job shuts out IT
graduates
Kurt Dreslin
The skills shortage is one thing, but I bet all the employers
want a degree and three years' experience before they consider
employing somebody. I am an IT graduate and I cannot get a job
because no one will give me the experience.
Flash drives put an end to heyday of floppy
disc
Barry Edmonds, regional director UK and Iberia,
Imation
It was only a matter of time before
discs would disappear from stores (Computer
Weekly, 6 February), especially as 98% of PCs and laptops no
longer have drives capable of taking them.
Consumers and workers alike are demanding better built-in
security, capacity and life-span which discs cannot offer. A total
of 14 million flash drives were shipped in Western Europe in 2005
alone, which demonstrates how perfectly suited they are to the
needs of today's user.
The heyday for the floppy disc has passed as users strive to
keep pace with fast-moving technology. With only 1.44Mbytes of data
the disc was simply unable to compete with flash drives and CDs,
but will be fondly remembered as a vital part of computing
history.
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