Educational Channels?
I've been fortunate to work in an educational environment, and have had "Site License" vlk's. I've not heard from our software provider regarding any changes. Put this on the 'to do' list...
Microsoft has confirmed it is to gradually kill off Enterprise Agreements - volume licensing contracts so complex that a whole profit-making asset management eco-system sprang up off the back of them. As we exclusively revealed, first evidence of this comes on 1 July when new commercial customers with sub-500 seats will no …
I also am in an university environment. Our users with Enterprise versions of Windows 7 and 8.1 do NOT currently get Windows 10 updates forced down their throats or up their *****. This is because Enterprise versions are not subject to such BS. Is this Microsoft's attempt to forcibly move the remaining unwilling users to Windows 10?
I suspect that, ultimately, yes they are. That is unlikely to be their primary motive though.
Microsoft are in the business to make money. Nothing more than that, nothing less. They provide a product that needs to be funded in some way but they realise that they have to draw the line somewhere to prevent larger users from buggering off somewhere else like Apple or Linux. All they have really done is change the shape of that line in their favour.
Chika: "Microsoft are in the business to make money. Nothing more than that, nothing less."
Alas, if only that were true. Like most modern corporations, Microsoft is in business to maximize its quarterly stock valuation. Nothing more, nothing less - and nothing longer-term. This pretty much explains most of the company's disastrous policies going back to when Gates left.
Isn't the whole point of entering into a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement that you get free upgrades to the newest version of wondows during the contract?
Otherwise you could just buy computers with an OEM installation and just use outdated versions of windows as long as you like.
Wrong. Plenty of MS software is only available through enterprise agreements.
Without EA, now what? We can only get that software through Azure subscription services? We can't buy it at all because we're too small too mater?
Both. Either. Microsoft fucks the SMB every which way it can.
Microsoft licensing is cumbersome full stop.
The idea is to confuse businesses enough that they end up overbuying licenses to ensure they stay compliant.
Server license, cal for this, cal for that. Seat cal, user cal, stuff it all. The sooner I'm off this ridiculous hamster wheel the better.
Microsoft with the new Indian CEO is going worse than with the dumb Ballmer CEO.
This is going to be the biggest mistake ever that will kill Microsoft.
In a couple of years Microsoft managed to screw over all of its customers from the consumer mobile WindowsPhone and tablet Surface to desktop Windows8.x and 8.2=10 crap with the atrocious childish unusable Metro/ModernUI nonsense and a lot of new spyware added to the mix.
Now like the Metro/ModernUI stuff and spyware on WindowsServer2012 and 2016 weren't enough already they want to really have a lot of outraged enterprise business customers too.