Introduction and Background
Hi, welcome to “Watch Your Assets”, Network World’s blog dedicated to understanding Microsoft licensing. The complexities of Microsoft licensing have enthralled me for over 15 years (LOL, what can I say – I like puzzles) and I’ve dedicated a large portion of my career to helping people navigate these complexities, I’m excited to join with Network World in providing answers through this blog!
Bookmark this site, follow us or subscribe to our feeds as I’ll be providing regular updates and education on Microsoft licensing. Your comments and suggestions are welcomed as I want to know what’s important to you so please help me provide timely topics that will provide you with the most help.
Planned upcoming topics include:
· Finally understanding CALs and External Connector licenses
· Exploring the licensing changes with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2
· What’s going on with Microsoft server licensing in a virtualized world
· How Microsoft licensing impacts desktop virtualization
· Changes to Microsoft volume licensing (in particular the Select agreement going away)
· And many others…
Some of these topics have been covered in part in my Software License Management blog but I’ll be providing more specific information as it applies to Microsoft here in this blog.
Since one of the things I emphasize to my clients is “know your source”, let me tell you a bit about myself. In the early 90’s I transitioned from Finance to IT at a mid-size international organization. One of the first things I tackled was our Microsoft licensing (back in the days of Select 2.0). What I realized is that there wasn’t a lot of unbiased information available to help guide me…I had to weed through the various sales pitches on my own.
Although I’ve since moved on and started a consulting business focused on Software Asset Management (SAM), I have personally continued to specialize in Microsoft licensing. I neither love nor hate Microsoft. Some of the things they do I understand and some I don’t. I typically negotiate on behalf of clients “against” Microsoft, but I also represented my firm as one of the five U.S. companies that helped guide the start of the Microsoft SAM program and performed assessments on behalf of Microsoft for years. All of this has helped me to provide a balance to our clients of knowing the ropes but also having access to the official resources to ensure accuracy in the information provided.
