Microsoft has announced numerous updates to the MPSA, including support for MSDN.
The New Microsoft O365 Reporting & Management Ecosystem
It is very clear Microsoft is steaming full ahead with their cloud first strategy, and as a byproduct an entire new ecosystem has been born. Managing and reporting on O365 appears to be a hot new area that will only expand from here. The below three companies have various SaaS offerings in this space. All of these offerings hook into the Microsoft portal and simplify what can be done via PowerShell. I fully expect to see the SAM tool community jump into this space through innovation or acquisition. You have to love where a need exists a solution will appear!
Microsoft to Make Major Product and License Pricing Adjustments August 1st
The Microsoft community has been a buzz with the expected pricing changes arriving from Microsoft on August 1, 2015. I found an article from SoftwareONE I felt summarized the expected changes very effectively.
Critical Changes to MSDN Use Rights in July 2015 Product Terms
Attention - Please click here to read the latest update to this post...
I was just made aware of a most interesting article written by Barry Pilling today. It appears Microsoft is making critical changes to MSDN product use rights in the new July 2015 Product Terms.
Based on the article I would say the new use rights appear to directly conflict with page 15 ("Where the Software Can be Installed and Run") and the example on the top of page 23 of the January 2015 Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 and MSDN Licensing whitepaper.
This conflict appears to be very significant, and I encourage all readers to reach out to their Microsoft account team for clarification. If Barry's article is correct on the interpretation of the new MSDN licensing terms, this will have a negative financial impact on many Microsoft customers.
Let's hope this is an oversight and Microsoft comes out with a clarification saying so and corrected product use rights.
Thank you Barry for bringing this to the community's attention!
Please feel free to send me any updates on this hot issue to info@softwareadvocates.com.
Click here to read Barry's article...
Click here to download the latest Visual Studio and MSDN Licensing White Paper...
Microsoft PUR & Product List now combined in Product Terms
Beginning in July 2015, a new document called the Product Terms replaces both the Product Use Rights and the Product List.
Understanding the Microsoft Licensing Statement
An excellent article by Paul DeGroot on how to interpret a Microsoft Licensing Statement (MLS).
And do as Paul says, make sure to request an MLS for your organization every 90 days and verify it is correct.
Why Agree to Ambiguity?
It amazes me the number of organizations that sign software agreements that contain terms that are either not clearly defined or are downright ambiguous. It should be no mystery that software publishers create agreements with terms that can lead to multiple interpretations. Ask a complicated licensing question of any major software publisher, and expect to get multiple different responses.
My favorite contract language is “please contact your Account Manager, License Advisor, or Reseller for assistance”. Never is the process clearly outlined, but rather just call us we will take care of it. Why would anyone agree to contract language like this?
Not only should your legal counsel carefully review all contracts but your IT teams who will deploy and manage the technology need to make sure the contract terms support how they expect to use the software.
For all contract language not clearly defined add amendments that provide clear language as to what will happen when a given event occurs. Amendments should include irrefutable examples. Even if you do not think a given scenario will impact you during the contract, better safe than sorry.
June 2015 Microsoft Product List Changes
My friends over at Licensing School have dug into the June 2015 Product List and found a few interesting undocumented changes. I find the Office 365 From SA User SL an interesting one.
Surface 2 Road Trip Report
I am sitting at Wolfgang Puck in Terminal 3 of the Chicago O’Hare airport as I write this. I have been on the road since Sunday, and I decided to leave my laptop at home for four days and take my Surface 2 with a mouse and Type Cover 2. I have loved working with my Surface 2 this week, and I have not once regretted leaving my laptop at home.
I have spent the past few days speaking at the SAM Summit in downtown Chicago, and I have so enjoyed using my surface to perform all the tasks I would perform on my laptop. Numerous conference attendees stopped me to ask what I was using, and they all said way cool. I do require a mouse, and I utilize a combination of keyboard, mouse and touch. I call it the magical trio, and it is just fun to use. I have not been a Windows 8.1 fan until this device, and I love it!
Time to sit back enjoy my glass of wine and dinner before my flight back to Dallas. I am a bit excited since I am flying the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner home tonight.
Life is too short to live with a Bad Software Sales Team
After talking with numerous customers attending the IAITAM conference in San Diego back in April and the SAM Summit in Chicago this week, I have heard too many stories of software sales teams not partnering with their customers and working only in their best interest. This got me thinking that life is too short to live with a bad software sales team, and I recommend finding a way to work together or press the publisher to have a new team assigned that will partner with you. This assumes you are trying to partner, and not trying to drive a one way relationship. Having sold at Microsoft from 2005 – 2012, I dealt with many customers, and some were clearly not interested in partnering.
I would start by letting your sales team know what is expected of them and explain why these expectations are important to your business. Setup quarterly business reviews and outline in advance the agenda and expectations of the meeting. Let them know in advance of any concerns you have so they can fairly prepare.
If you have a sales team that will not work in a collaborative fashion, then I strongly recommend sitting down with them to discuss your concerns. If this fails to yield positive results, then I would next escalate the issue to their management. If this fails to correct the problem, then the next step is to ask for a new sales team. This is a serious step, and should only be your last resort.
Make sure to leverage all customer satisfaction surveys to communicate unsettled concerns regarding your sales team, especially the survey sent to the CIO. Most publishers take these very seriously. On the flip side if you have a great sales team then make sure they receive the highest marks on those surveys, this will go a long way to driving a positive relationship.