Microsoft Office SaaS?

Microsoft announced plans to release a free, advertising-supported service that would allow users to access versions of its Office applications through a standard web browser. Google offers their own services for $50 per year, as does IBM with their Lotus Symphony. Corporate customers will have the option of buying the service through a subscription or software licensing plan although pricing has not yet been determined. Caveat – the online versions won’t include all of the features of the traditional software […]

Preparing for an Oracle Audit

Here are some quick self audit tips should you ever be faced with an Oracle audit: 1. Proof of ownership– Collect all software licensing agreements (SLAs), invoices, and other renewal or procurement documentation. This paper trail will help in the audit process. 2. Measure your Oracle licensing usage– try to account for how often each Oracle product is used – including both typical usage and maximum usage – to ensure that the proper licenses have been purchased based on the […]

What the difference between software assurance and licensing rights?

In the wonderful and confusing world of software licensing there seems to be some confusion between software assurance (SA) rights and software licensing rights, which comes to light when SA benefits expire and users aren’t sure what they are entitled to do at that time. The  difference:  the software license right is valid for as long as you own the license with or without SA; an SA benefit is only active for as long as you have coverage on your […]

Week in Review (Around the World): Software Licensing and Compliance

In the News This Week ·      InformationWeek The licensing policy for Windows Vista lets customers downgrade it … Referring to Microsoft licensing policies that allow customers who purchase an operating system to legally install predecessor versions on their PCs. ·      BBC News Microsoft grants XP new lifeline It comes as Dell, HP and Lenovo exploit loopholes in Microsoft’s licensing terms to keep putting XP on machines. ·      Infostor magazine The new case for open source data protection Users familiar with commercial […]

To Upgrade or not to Upgrade…

SearchOracle.com just wrote an interesting piece this week on the trials and tribulations of going through an upgrade process on existing enterprise software. Mark Brunelli emphasizes the importance of doing your research ahead of time – know what the new features are, or what features may have been done away with – before making the decision to upgrade. Just because it’s called an upgrade, doesn’t always mean that it will serve as an advantage to your business. Another important factor […]

What is Software Licensing anyway?

Software licensing is a contract of agreement between the software publisher – e.g. Oracle, Microsoft, Adobe, to name a few – and the end user, sometimes referred to as the End User License Agreement, or EULA. Though software licensing can be a paper agreement, most often it’s embedded in the software itself as part of the installation process. You see this kind of EULA in every day life. Just over the weekend I installed some play software for my 6 […]

IAITAM Here I Come….

Tomorrow I travel to Palm Springs, CA to attend the 5th annual IAITAM conference. (IAITAM is the acronym for International Association of IT Asset Managers). The folks at IAITAM are a good bunch. In my view they’ve assembled a good team of professionals. I’m excited to attend –and speak- at this conference. My topic will cover ‘Smarter Oracle Software Licensing’ and one of my key themes will be to discuss Oracle compliance. What I like about IAITAM is their focus […]