Forced march
- Article 19 of 77
- Information Age, October 2001
The launch of Windows XP once again shows how Microsoft – in common with a host of other software suppliers – expects customers to upgrade to new releases of its software without question. Is it wrong to do so?
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“Gartner believes Microsoft confuses simplification with the elimination of options,” note Alex Bona and Alvin Park of the Gartner Group's software asset management division. “Either way, most enterprises will pay much more.” Gartner estimates that medium-sized businesses that upgrade software every three years will pay anywhere from 33% to 77% more under the new plan than they did before, while those that upgrade every four years will see prices rise between 68% and 107%. Only those that upgrade every two years will see a drop in costs of approximately 19%. Gartner recommends that companies that upgrade every three years should subscribe to SA, while those that upgrade every four years or more should re-buy the software when they decide they cannot go without the latest version.
Despite the unpopularity of the change in licensing, Microsoft has refused to climb down. TIF has asked the UK's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to investigate Microsoft's new agreements, and the complaint is being investigated by the Office of Fair Trading. Elite has also written to the DTI, and has met with Microsoft to put its complaints across.
“Basically, Microsoft ignored all these complaints and said it's going to happen anyway. We'll be replying once more, but to be honest, I don't think we're going to get anywhere,” explains Elite's David Rippon. TIF's meeting with Microsoft was equally unconstructive. “They started it as though we were wrong. [They felt] how could we come to such a conclusion?” recalls Roberts.
In the short term, it looks like Microsoft will have its way and a majority of companies will sign up to SA. However, as Roberts warns, the new licences have “elevated the problem to the status where board rooms are aware of their own dependence on Microsoft products and their pressure on costs. The natural reaction is to start looking for alternatives. There may not be any now, but in five years time... Businesses are not going to take this sort of treatment lying down.”
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