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.

When AI Can Rebuild Any App: Licensing, IP and Vendor Lock-In

By Alex Cojocaru | October 8, 2026

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

By Shaun Ashbury | September 30, 2026

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

By Alex Cojocaru | August 22, 2026

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

By Alex Cojocaru | July 27, 2026

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

By Alex Cojocaru | July 6, 2026

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

By Alex Cojocaru | July 1, 2026

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

By Alex Cojocaru | June 6, 2026

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.

By Alex Cojocaru | May 12, 2026

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.

By Alex Cojocaru | April 26, 2026

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

By Alex Cojocaru | April 25, 2026

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

By Alex Cojocaru | April 14, 2026

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.

Why ServiceNow AI Packaging Changes the Buying Question

By Alex Cojocaru | April 10, 2026

ServiceNow put AI in every product and a three-tier package on the price list. Seats still drive the bill. What SAM should lock before the next renewal.

The Model Is the Commodity. Microsoft Just Proved It.

By Alex Cojocaru | April 1, 2026

Microsoft spent $13 billion investing in OpenAI. Then, in September 2025, it quietly added Anthropic’s…

Alex Cojocaru to Presenting Real-World Use Cases for AI in ITAM at BCS Conference

By Alex Cojocaru | February 25, 2026

🇬🇧 LONDON, UK – March 3, 2026 – Alex Cojocaru, CEO and Co-founder of LICENSEWARE,…

Why Listed-Provider Terms Still Decide Your Cloud Placement

By Alex Cojocaru | February 24, 2026

JFTC is investigating Microsoft’s cloud licensing. Listed-provider terms still price Windows Server and SQL differently on Azure than on AWS or Google Cloud.