This week, while at SoftSummit in San Jose, Microsoft is stressing that they aren’t trying to make their licensing complex, but they do admit that there are complexities that must be addressed – for example – with cloud and virtualization. They are predicting a “hybrid world” with some software usage being based on cloud deployment and virtualization, with others being asset based. The Microsoft spokesperson acknowledged that virtualization poses some challenges, but they are working to get the right programs in place. They also addressed piracy, claiming that China is an ongoing problem, and new virtualization deployments are also causing companies to be under-licensed, without being aware of the problem.
These are all things we have been saying for ages – glad Microsoft is coming clean and making the effort to make a change. Though, it’s interesting that a year ago, Steve Ballmer talked about how licensing will become more complex.