NewsFactor: Linux’ New Best Friend: Microsoft Licensing 6.0

“When Microsoft first announced its new way of licensing
products two years ago, corporations balked. It was not so much the
entirety of Licensing 6.0 that bothered them as the Software
Assurance program. That part of the new agreement took away version
upgrades and required enterprises to pay up-front for a two- or
three-year upgrade contract.

“The program’s high price, coupled with the absence of any
guarantee that Microsoft would come out with timely upgrades,
provoked overwhelming customer disapproval. In a survey of 4,000 IT
managers by Giga Information Group and Sunbelt Software, a
consulting company, more than half of those questioned said they
were not going to sign up for Licensing 6.0.

“But expressing disapproval about a licensing program and doing
something about it are two different things. The evidence suggests
Microsoft’s Software Assurance program has caused some IT managers
to defect to other platforms, particularly Linux. And more
defections could be on the horizon…”

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