Keenpath

Microsoft Updates Its Licensing To Address Cloud Computing Interest and Allow for Cost Savings

Microsoft has made some changes to its enterprise software licensing agreements, which may affect the way you purchase and license your servers and their application software.

The modifications to their Enterprise Agreement (EA) stem from challenges faced by IT due to the state of the economy, as well as Microsoft’s response to industry interest sustained growth with cloud computing and virtualization, and to “strike a balance between providing traditional licensing solutions and expanding into new ways to purchase and use software like subscription and online purchasing”. (Quoted from recent Q&A with Joe Matz)

Customers can get this offer through the EA enrollment, and in signing up for Microsoft Enrollment for Application Platform, and choosing between two different licensing models. It is proposed that this can help lower costs, with up to 40 percent price savings.

Keenpath’s Insight:

Systems and models like cloud computing continue to innovate and challenge the typical mindset of application and server deployment. Many organizations are realizing large cost savings and reduced management requirements by leveraging virtualization and cloud computing in their environments, whether on a full scale, or pilot deployments.

Microsoft realizes the business model and justifications for leveraging cloud computing technology, whether internal or external federated clouds, has caused them to clearly evaluate their software licensing, and development. They recently released online services, Business Productivity Online Standard Suite, in competition with Google Apps suite.

Companies can continue to leverage their existing infrastructure, while evaluating, becoming comfortable with, and eventually transition to a cloud based business infrastructure where fit, using these and other services and products.  With this, organizations such as the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) are tasked with developing industry best practice and guidance to increased awareness and effectiveness of security with the cloud model.

Establishing a Green IT Baseline

As a part of any initiative, to put together a comprehensive action plan, and to implement the same, the necessary information needs to be discovered and calculated.  Far beyond a trend, the greening of business, is an important step towards cost saving, while at the same time fulfilling a responsibility to the environment.

Technology industry analyst Doug Washburn provides three insightful points why its important to establish a green IT baseline:

• Guide your greening efforts with solid data. Avoid guessing about what to green first by referencing concrete statistics on energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and cost per IT asset.
• Create realistic goals. Measuring IT’s energy consumption will help you estimate the possible environmental and economic benefits of going green, ensuring your green-related goals are realistic.
• Quantify the benefits over time. Once you have implemented green upgrades to your IT assets, compare your new energy consumption to your baseline, highlighting both environmental and economic savings.

Additional things to consider: Discuss with business leaders about current energy budgets and compare with your green IT baseline. Propose a solution, and expose organization’s business leaders to the benefit of and importance of green IT initiative, with current and planned utilization. Inspire those around you by forming a green team, green initiative, along with marketing and whomever will join in sounding the voice.

The Green IT Baseline Calculator

In February 2009, Forrester Research introduced an online green IT baseline calculator, designed to help IT professionals and decision makers calculate their green technology baseline.

(If you experience any difficulty viewing the embedded calculator click here)