Licensing

Licensing coverage across vendor paper, metrics, audits, and renewal math. Posts here treat the contract as the object: processors, Named User Plus, named users, seats, and what changes when the same SKU moves to a listed cloud.

This is the commercial parent file, not a product tour and not company news. Vendor-only questions belong in Microsoft, Oracle, VMware, SAP, Adobe, or the other child categories. Use this archive when the question still spans more than one publisher.

The Next Frontier of SAM: Your Next Asset Class Will Be a Robot

By Alex Cojocaru | July 29, 2025

For decades, Software Asset Management (SAM) professionals have wrestled with an ever-expanding list of assets.…

West Northamptonshire Council’s Saves £1 Million on Microsoft in Post-Merger License Consolidation

By Alex Cojocaru | July 28, 2025

In an era of tightening public sector budgets, a £1 million saving is a significant…

How Kerala’s Schools Saved $360 Million by Swtching to Open Source

By Alex Cojocaru | July 27, 2025

In the world of public sector IT, a savings of a few million dollars is…

A Turning Point for Digital Sovereignty in the Netherlands

By Alex Cojocaru | July 24, 2025

In a striking move on March 18, 2025, the Dutch Parliament approved a series of…

The Best-Kept Secret is Out: Red Hat Confirms No-Cost RHEL is for Businesses Too

By Alex Cojocaru | July 23, 2025

In a move aimed at clearing long-standing confusion and countering the rise of community-driven clones,…

A New Deal for Europe: Microsoft Unveils Consumption-Based Licensing for Windows Server

By Alex Cojocaru | July 23, 2025

Microsoft has announced a significant change to its licensing model for Windows Server in Europe,…

A Final Reprieve: Microsoft Announces Paid Extended Security Updates for Exchange and Skype Servers

By Alex Cojocaru | July 22, 2025

Microsoft has officially announced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for Exchange Server 2016…

The Price of Freedom: Confronting the Sustainability Crisis in Open Source

By Alex Cojocaru | July 20, 2025

The modern digital world, a multi-trillion dollar economy of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and global…

Oracle’s Database@AWS Launch Signals Multicloud Pivot While Preserving License Revenue Streams

By Alex Cojocaru | July 19, 2025

Oracle’s recent launch of Database@AWS represents a fundamental strategic shift that simultaneously embraces multicloud flexibility…

VMware Extended Support Lifecycles Signal Strategic Retreat Amid Customer Backlash

By Alex Cojocaru | July 18, 2025

In a significant strategic pivot that reflects mounting enterprise resistance to Broadcom’s aggressive licensing overhaul,…

Microsoft’s Concessions to European Cloud Providers: A Stalling Tactic or a Step to Fair Competition?

By Alex Cojocaru | July 17, 2025

A recent agreement between Microsoft and Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) has brought…

Oracle Java Audits Surge: 73% of Users Targeted as Licensing Changes Drive Mass Migration to Open Source

By Alex Cojocaru | July 16, 2025

A startling new survey has revealed the extent of Oracle’s aggressive audit campaign targeting Java…

VMware Reboots Partner Program Again: Smaller Cloud Providers Face Uncertain Future

By Alex Cojocaru | July 15, 2025

In a move that has sent shockwaves through the virtualization industry, VMware has announced the…

The Hire and License Out (HALO) Effect

By Alex Cojocaru | July 14, 2025

Since AI became mainstream, a new type of transaction has emerged that is fundamentally changing…

Telefónica Germany Ditches Broadcom, Opts for Third-Party VMware Support

By Alex Cojocaru | July 13, 2025

In a move that sends a clear signal to the rest of the industry, Telefónica…

The End of Ownership: More Software Licensing Upheaval is on the Horizon for SAP Customers

By Alex Cojocaru | July 12, 2025

The world of enterprise software is in a state of perpetual flux, but the ground…

The Great U-Turn: Citrix Re-Embraces VMware and Hyper-V in a Post-Broadcom World

By Alex Cojocaru | July 10, 2025

In a stunning reversal of a long-standing and often controversial policy, Citrix has announced it…

Rimini Street and Oracle Reach Historic Settlement, Ending 15-Year Legal Battle

By Alex Cojocaru | July 9, 2025

After more than a decade and a half of contentious litigation, enterprise software support company…

A New Deal for DC: GSA and Oracle Ink Landmark “Whole-of-Government” Agreement

By Alex Cojocaru | July 8, 2025

The US General Services Administration (GSA) has brokered a landmark, five-year “whole-of-government” agreement with Oracle,…

A Victory for Software Ownership: Dutch Agency Wins Landmark Right to Resell Oracle Licenses

By Alex Cojocaru | July 7, 2025

A Dutch public procurement agency has won a landmark legal victory against Oracle, securing the…