AI, Cloud & SaaS
AI services, public cloud and SaaS are licensed differently from installed software: by consumption, by seat or by tokens, often on terms that change between renewals. Articles here cover AI pricing and governance, bring-your-own-license and license-included options on AWS and Azure, FinOps and cloud cost control, SaaS sprawl, and the data licensing and copyright questions raised by training and using AI models.
Unused Seats, Unread Meters: SaaS Cost Basics for AI
AI subscriptions are SaaS with a meter attached. The classic levers still work on the seat, but the meter needs…
Shadow AI Is a SaaS Problem First
Most unmanaged AI is not a security incident yet. It is a subscription on a card, a key in a…
Roles, SaaS and AI Reports, and New Integrations in LICENSEWARE
LICENSEWARE now has owner, editor and viewer roles. SIM adds AI Usage and SaaS Seats reports, and new API connectors…
Microsoft's AI Bill Has Three Meters
Microsoft sells AI through Copilot seats, Copilot Credits and Foundry tokens or provisioned throughput. Each has its own rules, its…
SIM Now Manages SaaS and AI Spend, Per User
Software Inventory Manager now connects to Okta, Entra ID and Google Workspace, and by API to Anthropic, OpenAI, Cursor, Gemini…
Gemini's API Price Doubles on December 1. Check Your Exposure.
Google's Gemini API price list doubles the rates for Gemini 4 Argon on 1 December 2026 and for two Flash…
Four Vendors, Four Meters: AI Pricing Compared
Published list prices for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Microsoft side by side: API tokens, batch, caching and seats, where each…
Tokens, Explained for the People Who Pay the AI Bill
AI tools are sold as seats, but the bill behind them is counted in tokens. What input, output, reasoning, caching…
Contract Compliance Analysis Is Now Live in LCM
NEO's contract analysis now lives in License and Contracts Manager as an interactive view, replacing the PDF report that used…
When AI Can Rebuild Any App: Licensing, IP and Vendor Lock-In
AI-assisted projects rebuilt Photoshop, Word, Excel, AutoCAD and Pro Tools as open source in about a week. What that means…
NEO Brings AI-Powered OCR Extraction to License and Contracts Manager
NEO now brings AI-powered OCR extraction to License and Contracts Manager. Drop in software contracts and purchasing documents in any…
Why One Oracle Processor License Buys Differently on AWS
Exadata on Database@AWS is generally available. BYOL conversion sits in Oracle’s service descriptions, not the 2-vCPU RDS policy. Model both before you move.
When a Copilot SKU Changes Without a Buying Decision
CMA opened a consumer-protection case on Microsoft 365 Copilot defaulting. £25 extra a year. No finding yet. Map consumer vs commercial SKUs this month.
Microsoft’s Annual FX Write Locks Your Local Cloud List
Partner Center: commercial-cloud local prices now lock once a year on 1 January 2027. Model the November guidance against the agreement you hold.
If You Cannot Read the AI Bill, You Have No Position
KPMG’s Q2 Pulse: 29% of leaders cannot control AI operating cost at scale. Usage-based contracts need a license position, not another invoice dump.
NHS Copilot Rollout: Count Assigned Before Demand
NHS England will give 505,000 staff Microsoft 365 Copilot by October 2026. Cost undisclosed. Count allocated, assigned, and active before treating it as demand.
The CMA Opened a Clock. Your Estate Still Needs a Number.
CMA opened a Microsoft SMS investigation on 14 May 2026. Decision by 13 February 2027. Not a finding. What SAM should have before the designation date.
Copilot Seat Prices Held. The Credit Meter Did Not.
GitHub moved Copilot to usage-based AI Credits on 1 June 2026. Seat prices stayed. Completions stay unlimited. What SAM should still lock on the meter.
AI Vendor Lock-In Turns Usage Into a License Metric
89% of executives think they can switch AI vendors in four weeks. 58% of those who tried failed or dragged. Treat meters as entitlement, not cloud bills.
Anthropic Split the Enterprise Seat From the Meter
Anthropic Enterprise seats cover access only. Every token bills at API rates. Chat-only and Standard/Premium convert at renewal. What SAM should lock first.