Hosting services customers often want to use licenses that they have acquired to deploy Microsoft software on a service provider’s servers. Those customers need to be wary about such deployments, as applicable license terms may restrict their ability to deploy the products offsite. However, the service provider needs to be doubly cautious. After all, the…
One of the first steps we typically recommend to businesses facing software audits from any source is to try to estimate the financial exposure related to those audits. Doing so allows a company to allocate its resources more efficiently and to set aside reserves or make other financial preparations in advance of settlement, when auditors…
In a past entry, I mentioned the SPLA Qualification Road Map as a helpful document for companies to use when trying to determine the appropriate license model for Microsoft products deployed in connection with hosted services. Again, the road map takes the form of a flowchart, with each step consisting of a question that is…
We write extensively at this site about some of the finer points pertaining to licensing software under Microsoft’s Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA). However, some businesses new to the model often ask us much more basic questions, like: What is SPLA, and is it right for me? Like most for-profit software publishers, Microsoft publishes its…
Businesses that have endured audits initiated by Microsoft in connection with Services Provider License Agreements (SPLAs) are all too aware that Microsoft’s auditors spare no effort in identifying opportunities to increase the total amount of the compliance purchases demanded to resolve licensing discrepancies. For service providers that have licensed Windows Server operating systems under SPLA…
Businesses wanting to license Microsoft products for use in connection with solutions delivered to customers over the Internet need to remember proper licensing involves answering two questions: • Are users “accessing” the software? • Is that access “commercial hosting”? Many companies skip to question two, but the answer to question one may keep you from having to…
Many companies using Microsoft products to deliver services to their customers are familiar with the “commercial hosting” prohibition included in most Microsoft license agreements: You may not host the products for commercial hosting services. Most CIOs reading that prohibition also are familiar with the feeling of deep confusion that can arise when they notice that…
An increasing number of enterprises are considering the value of Microsoft’s enterprise-level licensing models. The model with which companies are most familiar likely is the Enterprise Agreement (“EA”), under which a business licenses all of its desktops for Windows, Office and/or client access licenses, with the cost of those licenses being payable in three installments…
Microsoft audits – especially for larger companies – often are resource-intensive and exhausting undertakings even for the most well prepared IT teams. However, certain aspects of such audits often present more challenges than others. In our experience, the most difficult data to inventory and analyze accurately usually are those related to server clients. In some…
Most business owners are familiar with the “traditional” server-plus-client licensing scheme for many Microsoft server software products, such as Windows Server operating systems, Exchange messaging software and SQL Server database software. That is, you purchase one license permitting the installation and operation of the software on a server, and then, in addition, you purchase client…
