Re: Back to the Dark Ages.
"OK say IT if we haven't got a licence the software gets removed."The reaction is extreme, to say nothing of absurd. But a lot of companies are raising the same concerns. One of the major reasons for the concern is Microsoft's software audits. As you say, many companies haven't been very careful about their software licenses, and, in this economy, they either don't have or don't want to pay the money to go legit.
"Whaaagh! we say. How can we work if we haven't got the tools?"
"OK say IT, we'll go and get more licences.......BLOODY HELL!... How
much!... They can do without."
A saner approach than your company is taking is to look for software that is licensed for concurrent users - that is, by the number using the software at the same time. If some software is only occasionally used in your office, then this type of license will help to reduce costs.
Better yet, investigate open source and free software. OpenOffice, for example, is a close match to MS Office, can be used almost immediately by anyone familiar with MS Office, is available for Windows, Linux and Solaris (and soon for Mac) - and available free for the download. A little more digging will reveal equivalent tool for most office needs. The tools won't be exactly the same, so some learning time will probably be necessary, but the adjustment can be made.
My apologies for raising a topic that I've probably beaten to death on this list, but I really think it could help in this case.
--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
"It is impossible to experience deja vu for the first time.
I reckon that the first time you experience deja vu must be the second."
- Les Barker, "Deja Vu: A Rhyme"
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