Will companies pay attention to new operating systems (i.e. Windows 8)?

Traditionally application compatibility has driven the Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) to choose a single operating system OS/hardware platform.  This homogeneous environment – regardless of whether it was Windows, Mac, or Linux - was easier to maintain, reduced costs and increased system availability.  As more applications are available via Software as a Service (SaaS) that run from a browser on any OS or are delivered by technologies such as Citrix XenApp to any device, companies are looking to flexibility as a main requirement for their IT infrastructure.  The OS and hardware become a user-specific preference that allows employees to choose the environment that they are most productive in at any given time – a thin client from the office, an iPad from a meeting or an Android smartphone from a lunch meeting.   This shift will move the emphasis from standardizing the OS/hardware as a focal point to enabling any OS/hardware.

Zen and the Art of Microsoft Software Licensing

Even accomplished technology professionals at times find Microsoft Licensing to be confusing, redundant, and expensive. Far too many companies are either paying too much or too little for their software licenses and the costs of non-compliance have real impacts on a business.

At issue is firstly the purchase of software products like the Microsoft Office suite of personal productivity applications or the Windows Operating System on each laptop and desktop. The ability to purchase new computers with this software pre-loaded helps to keep the bulk of the world compliant on licensing costs, but as computer equipment is replaced and software that was preloaded gets installed on other computers many companies begin to run afoul of the law. How should a company balance the different replacement cycles of software and hardware without violating licensing agreements or spending money needlessly? Subscription model software licensing is the solution.

Virsage WorkPlace takes advantage of Microsoft’s Service Provider Licensing Agreements (SPLAs) to be able to provide software like Microsoft Office, Windows Client Access Licenses, Windows Server, and Microsoft Exchange to WorkPlace customers in a per-use model. Our system ensures that companies are using legally purchased licenses for all of the software they are taking advantage of. Not only does compliance now become a non-issue, but customers only pay for the software that they actually use. The amount of software used by each company is measured and billed accordingly so firms are never stuck paying for software that they don’t use. Additionally, this subscription model assures that the latest versions of software are always included, so there are not new purchase costs every few years as new releases become available.

We think pay-per-use models just make sense. That’s why we provide our services in this fashion, and that’s why we take advantage of these models from companies like Microsoft.