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Category: Software Licensing

Why is software licensing so complicated?

Why is software licensing so complicated?

I’ve worked around Microsoft licensing for almost 7 years at my current employer, but even when I was doing Web development back in the 1990’s, Microsoft’s licensing —particularly for SQL Server—was infamous for its complexity, or at least for how hard it was for someone new to the realm to wrap their head around. The more things change, the more they stay the same; Microsoft is still (in)famous for the complexity of their enterprise software licensing rules. I compiled a…

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You have a management problem.

You have a management problem.

I have three questions for you to start off this post. I don’t care if you’re “in the security field” or not. In fact, I’m more interested in your answers if you aren’t tasked with security, privacy, compliance, or risk management as a part of your defined work role. The questions: If I asked you to show me threat models for your major line of business applications, could you? If I asked you to define the risks (all of them) within…

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Complex systems are complex (and fragile)

Complex systems are complex (and fragile)

About every two months, a colleague and I travel to various cities in the US (and sometimes abroad) to teach Microsoft customers how to license their software effectively over a rather intense two-day course. Almost none of these attendees want to game the system. Instead, most come (often repeatedly, sometimes with more people each time) to simply understand the ever-changing rules, how to apply them correctly, and how to (as I often hear it said) “do the right thing”. Doing…

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Windows desktop apps through an iPad? You fell victim to one of the classic blunders!

Windows desktop apps through an iPad? You fell victim to one of the classic blunders!

I ran across a piece yesterday discussing one hospital’s lack of success with iPads and BYOD. My curiosity piqued, I examined the piece looking for where the project failed. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, it seemed that it fell apart not on the iPad, and not with their legacy application, but in the symphony (or more realistically the cacaphony) of the two together. I can’t be certain that the hospital’s solution is using Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) or Remote Desktop (RD,…

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Windows RT, Sideloading, and Office. Oh my.

Windows RT, Sideloading, and Office. Oh my.

When you start working with Microsoft licensing – well, to be fair, almost anyone’s enterprise licensing, it can be mind-numbing. Truth be told, when I stepped up to pinch hit for my colleague, to cover the immense changes to SQL Server 2012 licensing, I developed a migraine with vertigo – something that hadn’t occurred for several years. While it could have been coincidence, we’ve taken liberty with it at work, and turned it into a running joke for our boot…

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VDI? OMG.

VDI? OMG.

For two days last week, I was at the annual Chicago installment of our Microsoft Licensing Boot Camp. I’ve been to several of our camps to help present a couple of the topics. I’ve also noticed something unusual (and somewhat frightening) occurring. What I’ve seen is the growth of – or at least growth of the interest of – Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). In VDI, the desktop operating system that a user interacts with is virtualized (and often remotely located)…

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Windows to Go where exactly?

Windows to Go where exactly?

Recently, I’ve seen a lot of excitement around Windows to Go, a new feature available in Windows 8. Windows to Go (WTG) enables Windows 8 (Enterprise) to boot from a USB Flash Drive (UFD). Fundamentally, WTG includes three technical features: Windows support for USB boot (including USB 3.0) Support for installing and running Windows from a removable USB hard drive (yes, this is a different line item than 1) Support for handling “surprise removal” of Windows without hanging or crashing….

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