Freebies bait Microsoft hook
Few firms are overjoyed by Microsoft's recent corporate licensing concessions
Customers have given a cool reception to concessions announced by Microsoft last week, designed to sweeten its Software Assurance licensing scheme.
The changes, beginning in September, include free support, training, Office licences for home use, and access to Windows code for firms with over 1,500 seats.
"The additional benefits are no more than window dressing," said Greg Hayden, group IT chief at magazine distributor Frontline. "Microsoft has been tinkering with licensing agreements ever since it announced the discontinuance of support for NT. This has been a large part of our decision not to use dot-Net. Software Assurance commits your business to years with Microsoft, which can hold you hostage by changing the licensing rules at any time."
David Roberts, chief executive of user body the Corporate IT Forum, said, "[Firms] do not want frequent upgrade cycles. The cost of implementing the upgrade is often several times the cost of the software."
Others said the changes will have more effect on small and medium-sized firms. "Large corporates will probably continue to negotiate specific agreements direct with Microsoft to take advantage of their identity and volume position," said Lee Fulmer, group e-commerce infrastructure manager at banking giant HBOS. "We have already negotiated an Enterprise Agreement which provides many of the Software Assurance benefits [including] an upgrade path for our NT 4.0 servers to the latest software such as Windows Server 2003."
Fulmer welcomed the option for staff to use copies of software at home.
"We have [about] 60,000 Office licences. It would be a great staff benefit," he said. However, Frontline's Hayden said that home use of software could become an admin and legal burden. "I wouldn't want to take responsibility for ensuring return of software," he said.
Microsoft UK licensing manager Sue Hogg commented, "We hope we are giving people what they have asked for and that it will make the scheme a more attractive proposition to new customers while people on existing contracts will be more keen on renewals."
In a report, Gartner analyst Alvin Park said: "Microsoft's move should help pacify disaffected customers. Firms should re-evaluate the value proposition."