Thriving licences

Server and desktop licensing will soon be a lot less complex, argues Greg Finnigan.

It will be some time before mainframe software licensing becomes simplified, as Robin Bloor correctly pointed out in vnunet.com's sister title Computer Reseller News recently, but things are happening that will make server and desktop licensing less complex.

For those wishing to unburden hassled IT managers, changes have been made to the software licensing model that will help.

Licensing has transformed over the past four years. It is cheaper to ship but more expensive to process. For example, product portfolios such as Microsoft's Open License Program contain nearly 9,000 product codes, making the complexity of the sale detract from the benefits of the software.

This in turn leads to a perception of poor customer service, with end users finding themselves frustrated by the inability of resellers to manage software assets. The reasons for this are historical: too many channel businesses treat software licensing as a product, which it plainly isn't.

An end user IT manager cannot spend time trying to understand the fundamentals of different vendors' licensing programmes. They rely on their advisers to ensure that they are accurately and legally licensed at the correct price.

Research at Ideal Hardware has shown that IT managers have three key concerns about their software assets:

Legality
Does the number of users match the number of licences purchased?

Standardisation
Do the users all use the same version or service release?

Best value
Am I buying at the best price possible?

The internet and web services provide the common interface for small and mid-sized enterprises to solve these problems and manage their licensing.

This powerful use of the web can be integrated into a user's own system using XML applications that allow for the seamless management of licences, such as Microsoft's BizTalk Server.

This technology has grown out of distribution, where there is a depth of understanding about the products. The business economy is easier to touch on a global basis and licensing procurement can be conducted from anywhere.

Service providers that used to avoid software licensing sales can begin to reap the rewards.

With licensing becoming less of a black art, all IT providers can get involved in the revolution and introduce a licensing service to their customers.

Greg Finnigan is software manager at Ideal Hardware.