Text 10968, 83 rader
Skriven 2006-05-10 18:06:04 av Mike '/m' (1:379/45)
Ärende: Rotten Effort
=====================
From: Mike '/m' <mike@barkto.com>


Looks like, in addition to intimidating consumer end-users of Windows via
Windows Genuine Disadvantage, Microsoft is becoming so desperate for revenue
that they are also harassing small businesses for unneeded sales.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&article
Id=111186

===
May 08, 2006 (Computerworld) -- It's bad enough when Microsoft strong-arms
other software vendors into submission as a means of thwarting competition. But
when it engages in underhanded tactics to intimidate users in order to land a
software deal, we have a very disturbing situation on our hands. And someone
needs to have the guts to speak out about it.

Fortunately, someone has. Last week, Dale Frantz, CIO at Auto Warehousing Co.,
brought to my attention an alarming business practice that shows Microsoft at
its shoddy and arrogant worst.

AWC was contacted several weeks ago by Janet Lawless, a software asset
management engagement manager at Microsoft, who claimed that "a preliminary
review of [AWC's software licensing] information indicates that your company
may not be licensed properly." Lawless urged AWC to "understand that the
potential inconsistency in licensing is an urgent matter and needs immediate
attention." She wanted to send a consultant to AWC to conduct an inventory of
its installed software.

Frantz was stunned. He says he always errs on the side of caution with respect
to software licenses. He does regular audits and maintains extensive records of
purchases, license keys and registration codes. Frantz had no doubt that he was
100% compliant. When he told Lawless that, she ratcheted up the threatening
tone of her e-mail correspondence.

"Simply commenting on your licensing environment does not address our concerns
in a tangible, proven manner," she wrote. "We continue to believe that Auto
Warehousing may not be licensed properly. Since this is a compliance issue, I
am obligated to notify an officer of Auto Warehousing of the situation and the
significant risk your organization may be subject to by not resolving this
situation in a timely manner."

At that point, Frantz got his corporate attorney involved. The attorney
suggested that an olive branch be proffered to avoid legal action, so Frantz
offered to send Lawless detailed records of all purchases of Microsoft software
in the past five years. But Lawless blew that off as well. She seemed
determined to get a consultant into the IT bowels of AWC.

"Thank you for your offer to send your purchase records to me," she wrote,
"however our Software Asset Management (SAM) program is the only unbiased way
to create an accurate baseline and resolve this matter."

That did it. Frantz informed Lawless that he wasn't going to waste anymore time
with her, and he left the matter with his attorney. The attorney, suspecting
that Lawless' actions were part of an elaborate sales effort, basically told
her to back off.

Indeed, according to Microsoft's Web site, the responsibility of someone with
Lawless' title of "engagement manager" is to "perform as an integrated member
of the account team, drive business development and closing of new services
engagements in targeted accounts." So why was someone in a sales position
leaning so hard on AWC about a supposed licensing compliance concern?

When I phoned Lawless to find out, she referred me to Microsoft's PR machine.
The responses I got through that channel stressed that Microsoft's aim is to
help customers navigate the complexities of software licensing and that one of
the roles of engagement managers is to assist in that effort by informing
customers of a potential licensing risk. I was told to attribute the responses
to Lawless.

The fact is, if Microsoft really has reason to believe that a company is using
unlicensed copies of its software, it sics the Business Software Alliance on
the company. It doesn't turn the matter over to one of its sales managers.

The folks at Microsoft should have done their homework. They would have
realized that trying to intimidate Dale Frantz would be a fruitless effort. And
what a rotten fruitless effort it was.
===

 /m

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