MS puts off Lar review for direct sale rethink
Pressure to form links with enterprise customers causes hiccup with issue of contracts.
Microsoft is likely to delay announcing changes to its Lar contractsissue of contracts. until mid-April as company officials continue to debate ways to adopt more direct relationships with Enterprise Agreement customers.
Changes to the enterprise programme were to be announced at Microsoft's Reseller Executive Summit in the US in early April, but one company source said the headache of appeasing customers without alienating the channel was likely to prolong the annual review until the middle of the month.
The source added: 'Microsoft is under increasing pressure from customers to have a direct relationship. Previously, it has said it is committed to a channel model, but its role in the enterprise is changing and Microsoft would be foolish to think that the way it has done things in the past is the best way of going forward.'
Jonathan Downes, UK volume licence programme manager at Microsoft, refused to rule out the possibility that the vendor will deal direct with enterprise accounts as part of the Lar review.
He admitted Microsoft was being pushed by enterprise account customers to deal direct, but said suggestions that the vendor will negotiate pricing with enterprise accounts, leaving Lars to provide post-sales support and services was 'just one of many scenarios being considered'.
Bill Henningsgaard, general manager of US sales at Microsoft, added channel partners were also dissatisfied with the existing Enterprise Agreement programme that in effect lets key accounts 'auction off' volume agreements to the lowest bidder, eating into Lar profits.
Downes said the revised Lar contracts will take effect from 1 July.
CD MEDIA RAPPED BY HIGH COURT JUDGE
Microsoft is claiming its greatest channel victory to date in its war against piracy after a High Court judge ordered an offender to stop dealing in counterfeit and unlicensed Microsoft products.
Uxbridge reseller CD Media was ordered by Justice Rich to stop dealing in counterfeit and grey imports from the US, which had been designated for sale to academic users in the US and Canada only, following a two-year campaign by the software giant to bring the organisation to court.
David Gregory, UK anti-piracy manager at Microsoft, said: 'This case sends out a clear message to anyone who cites the existence of advertisers such as CD Media as a legitimate reason for selling illegal and counterfeit software to customers. There can't be ignorance in the channel any longer,' he added.
However, Gregory admitted that the process of bringing CD Media to court was frustrating. 'It does take too long and is extremely expensive to the UK judiciary. We can't just walk into a reseller, show our business cards and buy a PC running Windows,' he said.
Microsoft's claim against CD Media for trademark infringement, copyright infringement and 'passing off' counterfeit goods as genuine goods succeeded on the basis that the reseller had no arguable defence.
Juan Thai Ho, managing director of CD Media, said the matter was in the hands of his solicitors. Although he admitted CD Media would appeal against the ruling, he declined to comment further.
Simon Robinson.