Ok, my apologies for taking so long to address this really great comment to my OGA posting a couple weeks ago. But, considering this is an important topic I wanted some down time to put together the reply. Well, again this weekend the wife and I were on the road heading towards Palm Springs (yes we got stuck in that nasty I-5 mess of crumbled tractor trailers). So, I figured this would be a great chance to type something up.
Hmmm… where to start? I guess my first statement would be, “get used to it”. Microsoft is not the only game in town bent on using a subversive activation model. After all, the whole concept of purchasing, installing, and owning software is rapidly changing. So, what Microsoft is currently doing is just the staging point for the holy grail of “Software as a Service” (I really do hate that term).
That being said, Google (in my opinion) is the leader in this space. Microsoft is just grabbing at some loose straws while they make the transition to a more on demand pay as you use model (again my opinion). Why do you think they are pouring money into their Live offerings and snatching up companies like Softricity? Well, because they are trying to catch up (and again in my opinion they may just do that)!
What does this all mean? Well, ownership of data is at question and to me this is the root of the issue here. Yes, with Microsoft’s SLPS an evil ISV or worse a hacker could use the built-in hooks to take control of the software and thus your data (not a new topic: NSAKEY). If that scenario scares you (kind of like a big bad boogie man might), then just don’t use the software. What concerns me more is the fast approaching day when all commercial software has moved towards the service model, thus we lose all control over the software we pay for. Or as it was stated in the comment “If you want every other software vendor to follow suit then accept the status quo, otherwise speak up and voice an opinion.”
Honestly, that trend is scary… It’s scary because it changes the very foundation of how we use software to manage our data. Some really good examples of this can be found with service based applications like Flikr, gmail, MySpace. These services seem innocuous (and free) but, some questions that always pop into my mind with these applications are:
- Do you fully own the data?
- Do you have free reign over the data?
- Is your data not used by the service provider for some type of activity (cough ***ads***)?
- Can the service provider ensure that your data is correctly segmented from other users?
In my opinion, the answer would have to be “it all depends, but most likely no, in some aspect”. After all, users are bound by a terms of service, as such they must comply with the TOS legal voodoo. If this isn’t a “total breach of IT security and data protection principles…” then I don’t know what is.
Note: I have kept my examples purely consumer based in nature. But, with services like Salesforce.com the questions and answers are the same if not more concerning.
Solutions… tempted to say open source, and I’m sure such a statement would make a lot of people on Slashdot very happy. But, in honesty I’m not really sure that is the answer. After all, I think the move towards “Software as a Service” is a trend for all applications (might take some time, but it will happen). That being said, I think with open source the data usage concerns are still there, just in a different form (I.E. you are relying on a community of people to safeguard your data).
Making the leap and innovate… is the only solution that I can think of. In other words, we will need to change the way we own, management, and control data. Not sure how to illustrate this… but, I’m sure some thought can be put into it. Thoughts?
BTW – I plan on posting some more technical stuff this week (most likely a PowerShell topic and then an Exchange topic). Opinion pieces, while fun, are not the sole reason why I run this blog.
