back to article Microsoft plans big licencing price hikes, shifting to per-Device model

Microsoft is planning to spread a unique brand of festive cheer before Christmas by bumping up the price of Client Accessing Licenses (CAL). Customers have two options when considering a CAL: the User CAL gives an individual user server client access for an unlimited number of devices; the Device CAL provides access to a …

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  1. A J Stiles

    Think this will affect you?

    If you think this will affect you, you need to realise just one thing: You DO have an alternative.

    Consider migrating to Open Source *today*. You've very little to lose, and a lot to save. There are people out there who can help ease the transition.

    1. Gary F

      Re: Think this will affect you?

      Good open source advert! :-) However, most organisations have their own in-house IT people who specialise in Microsoft software. It's not economical or practical to retrain those IT people to use, say, Linux, to the same level of expertise they currently have for Windows, SQL Server, etc. It would take far too long, cost a fortune in training and they'd be without in-house support for a number of months.

      If they dumped MS and went open source the only business option they'd have is to make their IT staff redundant and hire new people who already have years of experience with Linux or whatever the chosen platform is. :-(

      I've been hit by the MS price rises and the thought of going Linux has been there for a while, but none of us have the time to learn the ins and outs of a different platform to the same level of expertise we already have with Microsoft technologies. It's not possible to swap a decade of Windows experience for a decade of Linux experience unless you're Joe 90. (If anyone remembers that TV show?)

      One could argue that we're trapped and hostage to Microsoft's will and pricing policy. But given the retraining costs and the huge dip in skills we'd suffer for several months (or years?) it's still worth paying a bit extra to remain users and developers on the Microsoft platform. I believe that's exactly what Microsoft is depending on.

      1. A J Stiles

        Re: Think this will affect you?

        Get a good Open Source Migration consultant in to help you with the job. You might have to change some of your IT staff, but there are plenty of school leavers who hate Microsoft with a passion and won't expect to be paid much more than breadline wages (so what you are going to offer them will come as a nice surprise).

      2. Wensleydale Cheese
        Thumb Up

        Re: Think this will affect you?

        @ Gary F

        It's not possible to swap a decade of Windows experience for a decade of Linux experience unless you're Joe 90.

        But for those of us reluctantly dragged screaming into the Windows world some years ago, it is relatively easy to go back to a command line interface. In contrast with the hostile CMD.EXE interface, bash et el are relatively easy to get the hang of.

        One could argue that we're trapped and hostage to Microsoft's will and pricing policy. But given the retraining costs and the huge dip in skills we'd suffer for several months (or years?) it's still worth paying a bit extra to remain users and developers on the Microsoft platform. I believe that's exactly what Microsoft is depending on.

        Let's not forget that WIndows Server 2012 has a strong emphasis on Powershell, so that environment is also changing, and retraining will be required.

      3. Vic

        Re: Think this will affect you?

        > It's not economical or practical to retrain those IT people

        But you *are* retraining those people.

        Think about the Windows skills you use today. How do they compare to what you were doing 5 years ago? 10? 15?

        I'm still doing pretty much the same stuff I was doing 20-odd years ago. Under the covers, the Unix was of doing things doesn't change very much.

        > given the retraining costs and the huge dip in skills we'd suffer for several month

        There's no need to suffer; you can get outside help in to deal with the transition, and if you're not trying to switch over before a hard deadline, there's no reason not to sort things out over a period of time.

        > One could argue that we're trapped and hostage to Microsoft's will

        I'd say you're hostage to your own belief that *nix is somehow "difficult". It's surprisingly easy to become really quite proficient...

        Vic.

    2. dloughlin
      FAIL

      Re: Think this will affect you?

      "...You've very little to lose, and a lot to save..."

      You guys crack me up. Seriously what companies do you deal with?

      Can you give me a quote for converting all our databases from MS SQL to MySQL, redeveloping all our access and C# front ends, bespoke applications, web services, sync services that connect our databases to exchange, migrate our SharePoint portals etc etc etc etc etc. Also can you include training for thousands of people on OpenOffice and the alternatives for the Adobe Photoshop, Indesign, Premiere, After Effect etc etc etc

      It would cost a few million £'s and a few years development to move to Open Source....makes license increases look like small change.

      and personally...i've never seen a open source environment that's as feature rich and slick as a well setup Microsoft environment

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Think this will affect you?

        Ohh, fisty cuffs!

        Apples and pears. No, you don't migrate overnight to Open Source. The first thing you do is setting an Open strategy - focus away from the locked up shop and make the infrastructure open. We did that somewhere by introducing Apple kit for higher management (with support team) - that forced thinking about a more open architecture. It's not something you do overnight, but if you haven't been going down the more Open route for almost 10 years now you haven't been paying attention.

        As for your argument for retraining of users for Openoffice, I disagree. EVERY SINGLE VERSION of MS Office over the last few years has been sold on the basis of UI changes, and as someone with close to 30 years of document writing experience, every single version has made my life harder, not better - especially the ribbon crap amounted to taking a nuclear warhead to productivity as users had to root around to find the features they were used to. That productivity loss + training time is a hit on time you cannot recover with the so-called but in my experience mostly imaginary improvements to usability.

        OpenOffice, on the other hand, has remained pretty stable when it comes to UI (although some people are trying to make as bad a mess of it as MS Office to stay UI compatible). This means train ONCE. And people can use it home, and on Apple kit (and even Linux for the hardcore techies) without extra costs, and without any issues in presentation - stuff looks the same on all platforms. Add to this that the various flavours of OpenOffice all support the ODF format, a European Standard achieved by consensus rather than by flat out corruption and you also know you will have access to information so produced in a way that is stable.

        In that context, in the rich and horrific history of MS Office there has never been a more shocking realisation for me than when I discovered that spreadsheets created in one language did not work in another because the formulae were language dependent. Now, OK, they are a US outfit, but not tokenise this? That was an absolute jaw dropper for someone like me who tends to work in about 4 languages - you couldn't share a spreadsheet unless you used the same language version of Office.

        and personally...i've never seen a open source environment that's as feature rich and slick as a well setup Microsoft environment

        I'd cheat. Get a Mac. Cute front end, and every conceivable language in the back end including bash scripting, the simple to use Automator and Applescript (that's not Enterprise ready but gets you sometimes out of a hole).

        Furthermore, I hear a lot of yelping about OSX/Apple being expensive. You should actualyl start adding up what you spend in software (and maintenance) on a PC and on a Mac - you'd be surprised. And, if you have a hardware or repair issue you have global coverage..

        Once you have started down that route you can see where Linux makes sense as well. Do you really need to blow a fortune on your web server or is a simple, open CMS enough - that way you can invest what you save in customising it to make it work for you. Shorter deployment time, and in many cases you can get hold of the original author - ever tried to get decent support from MS? I worked for MS's second largest customer in the world and it was a struggle.

        Anyway, I'm not saying that every environment is perfect. But your argument that you cannot invest the effort to change doesn't stack up - you are already changing and retraining every time new releases come out of Windows and MS Office. About the only thing that keeps people hanging on to MS Office is Outlook - I'm astonished that there is really NO viable Open Source alternative out there, and even Apple still does it the old-fashioned way. It's actually the lack of Outlook alternatives one of the main barriers to change (MS Office on a Mac costs an absolute FORTUNE in comparison to *any* other software product on Mac except for Adobe, and that isn't in use by everyone).

      2. Vic

        Re: Think this will affect you?

        > Can you give me a quote for converting all our databases

        Yes, if you like.

        Vic.

    3. Vince

      Re: Think this will affect you?

      Yeah because as usual that's assuming it's THAT simple, practical or feasible, or that somehow the license cost is the only consideration in using/moving/migrating/trialling opensource.

      We get it, there's another option. And where it makes sense many of us use it, but just because the license cost is free for the basics, it doesn't mean it is financially, technically or operationally sensible.

  2. gkroog
    Linux

    The vendor has simply identified a way to "make more money"?!

    Really, is that what they were trying to do?! How novel! Like MS has never tried to milk their customers before, like when they sold us the SAME TRASH TWICE with Windows 98 and ME!

    And is anybody really falling for "These CAL changes include a user-based option that offers MORE VALUE in support across unlimited devices and SIMPLIFIES LICENSING MANAGEMENT and compliance as devices in the workplace proliferate," stated Microsoft"?!

    They're only more valuable now because MS sells more of them and has inflated the price to make money they weren't making on device access CALs.

    Of course it isn't illegal for a company to raise a price to try maximize profit, but I just get very annoyed when they do. Especially after introducing the product at a lower price (without saying its an "introductory offer").

    I've had no trouble with Windows 7, I'm using it now as I type, but Windows 8 is imminent, and I wonder if that's got something to do with the sudden price increase.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Best way to nail that

    Start talking to some Linux vendors and let your MS salesman know you are.

    1. Tim Bates

      Re: Best way to nail that

      One of my previous employers did that once... About 6 months before the licensing contract ended, they rolled out a new "SOE" with Open Office included (alongside MS Office). Next they started making noises about a Linux option possibly being made available to certain sites and user groups.

      No idea if it worked - but I got the impression it didn't.

  4. Chris Dupont

    The Price of FOSS...

    ... is having to retrain your staff to use different software. Only a fool would suggest a company has 'little to lose' when retooling.

    1. DiBosco

      Re: The Price of FOSS...

      Ah, that old chestnut. The problem with that argument is that is only true for that first period of training. Once people are trained in something new (hardly difficult) the long terms savings are massive. Don't let a short time excuse for fear of change get in the way of a long term benefit though, eh?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The Price of FOSS...

        then there is the bringing in of new staff.

        Your new hires are more likely to quote Word, Excel and Sage Accounts skills on their CV and be used to Outlook.

        Until there is a larger number of users with some experience of Open Source productivity software in the job pool, the average company may have to allow extra time/training for the new starter to settle in.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The Price of FOSS...

      "Only a fool would suggest a company has 'little to lose' when retooling"

      With that kind of thinking we would still be using stone age tools, living in caves and paying the flint maker 1000 times what we used to pay him.

    3. Kevin Johnston

      Re: The Price of FOSS...

      Of course there is no retraining cost when moving from one release of MS Office to the next? Or one version of Windows to the next...

      The argument is weak to start with (just how much training do people actually get on ANY piece of 'normal' office software) and with most FOSS software having at least a similar look/feel then the fumbling stage is no longer than any replacement package. The only real issue is that the Excel macros that they have been running their payroll system with for the last 12 years may not work anymore.

      1. A J Stiles

        Re: The Price of FOSS...

        Any decent Open Source Migration Consultant will rewrite your mission-critical Excel macros in OpenOffice Calc as part of the service you're paying for.

        Or, if you've been (mis)using spreadsheets as databases, they will create a bunch of scripts to do the same stuff but with a proper Postgres or MySQL database backend.

        'Cause you see, that's what OSM consultancy involves. Beware of the cowboys who think all you need is an Ubuntu install CD, is all .....

        1. Potemkine Silver badge

          Re: The Price of FOSS...

          So you will have to rewrite a lot of code that was already working, pay a lot for that, and have to deal with all the new bugs and caveats of the rewritten pieces of code. "Rewriting everything from scratch" is what IT routinely suggests, but Accounting generally doesn't agree. How can you be sure the switching process from MS to Open Source will guarantee you having the same functionalities than before and will be profitable in term of cost?

        2. Vince

          Re: The Price of FOSS...

          I'm almost willing to see how you'd get along converting our MS Word stuff to any other option - because actually some of the really clever and lesser seen stuff isn't available period on the alternatives.

          And if you write some custom software to achieve it, then I now have to pay to maintain that in future, so it's just like the alternative. It's really a lot more difficult than that in any large or complex installation.

    4. A J Stiles

      Re: The Price of FOSS...

      This is an oft-parroted canard. I don't expect to convince you, because your mind is clearly already made up, so what follows is mainly for the benefit of unconvinced readers.

      Firstly, training is a one-off expense, whereas licencing costs are ongoing. And secondly, the practical differences are minimal. Most people lay out Word documents using spaces, and create headings by choosing a bigger font and bold -- and add up the figures in an Excel spreadsheet using a calculator. They are hardly going to notice.

  5. Wensleydale Cheese

    Migration caveats

    @ A J Stiles

    Beware of the cowboys who think all you need is an Ubuntu install CD, is all .....

    Absolutely correct, and this is where a proper consultant comes in. I would feel derelict in my duty if I were to take on such a conversion then left the client with a bunch of non-working documents.

    However, as part of such a conversion one should only agree to convert the documents specified in the contract. You can bet your bottom dollar that someone will have a document hidden somewhere that is a real pain to convert, and if you haven't worked that into the price you can get badly bitten.

  6. terry 1
    Coat

    i wonder...

    Make the enterprise a really expensive place to be, then offer their own cloud solutions at a lower price with the hope that suits will go for the cheaper option.

    Maybe its just cheaper to have loadsa virtual W7 pcs acting as file servers and just group 10 users to each one and have a nas box for mapping the network drives to </joke> </maybe>

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Linux

    the price of Client Accessing Licenses (CAL)

    "Microsoft is planning to spread a unique brand of festive cheer before Christmas by bumping up the price of Client Accessing Licenses (CAL)"

    I don't understand the logic of people spending money of software licenses, when they can get equivalent software for the price of a writable DVD ...

    distrowatch.com

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