Microsoft announced this week a pair of enterprise software licensing bundles that one analyst said could save money and time for the company's loyal customers.
Unveiled during the Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans this week, the licensing bundles will become available Oct. 1, according to a Q&A posted Tuesday at Microsoft's Web site with Joe Matz, corporate vice-president for worldwide licensing and pricing at Microsoft.
[ When it comes to cloud computing, Microsoft customers still face licensing hurdles. ]
One, called the Enrollment for Application Platform, offers a server software suite -- including SQL Server database, BizTalk Server, Office SharePoint Server, Visual Studio development software, and Dynamics CRM -- that can be purchased via a Microsoft EA (Enterprise Agreement).
Paul DeGroot, an analyst with the independent Directions on Microsoft, called the Enrollment for Application Platform "the offspring of the Application Platform Agreement" that Microsoft introduced last year to counter Oracle Inc.'s Unlimited License Agreement, which lets Oracle customers license as many instances of the product as they like.
While the Application Platform Agreement bundle forced customers to commit "to spend quite a bit of money," the new Enrollment option is aimed at medium-sized businesses, said DeGroot.
According to Microsoft, customers using the Enrollment for Application Platform can pay for the software over one or three years. "Customers may realize lower ongoing costs for new deployment with price savings of up to 40 percent," said Matz.
DeGroot, who had not been briefed on these new licenses, wasn't sure how Microsoft calculated the savings. But he felt that "overall, it could be a good option for mid-market customers who have EAs," he said. "They may not buy enough servers to get a good discount in Select [license]. The discounts in this Enrollment could be better."
The second bundle, called the Enrollment for Core Infrastructure, bundles Windows Server, System Center management software, and Forefront Client Security software.
Customers buying this software separately would have had to use "a combination of licensing models including per server, per processor, per Operating System Environment and subscription," said Matz. "With the Enrollment for Core Infrastructure, this is all accomplished using a simple, per-processor basis."
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Applications Resource Alerts
Like any valuable resource, IT is a terrible thing to waste. But by applying the same lean techniques that have been used to streamline manufacturing processes, IT departments can reduce costs, improve performance and better manage resources.
Download now! »
Stephen Elliot, vice president of strategy for CA's Infrastructure Management and Data Center Automation business unit, explains why difficult economic times drive the need for simplified management capabilities and advanced automation tools.
Listen now! »
According to a recent study CA conducted with 300 CIOs and top IT executives, 64 percent of respondents say they've already invested in virtualization, and the other 36 percent reported that they plan to invest in virtualization.
Download now! »
In this video learn about process automation in a virtualized world. How CA and VMware are enabling enterprise datacenter automation.
View now! »
17 Recommendations
