Quelle: CIO, USA

For all its warring with competitors, MicrosoftMicrosoft's relationship with its corporate customers had been relatively peaceful. Until October 2001. Alles zu Microsoft auf CIO.de

That's when Microsoft's new licensing scheme started going into effect.

Redmond's decision to shift from a business plan that let its corporate customers decide when to upgrade each PC or server to a subscription plan that exacts a yearly fee for the software- whether you upgrade or not - has fueled a new kind of anger.

It's a dangerous kind of anger, the kind that flares up when you think you've lost control over something that was once yours.

Of course, CIOs long ago ceded control over the desktop to Microsoft, but they held on to the power to decide when and how they would upgrade. And they had the leverage to negotiate on price when they did. The new scheme, called Licensing 6.0, requires enterprises to buy a two- or three-year subscription that covers any number of upgrades. Those who don't buy a subscription can still buy individual licenses, but they'll pay the full license price the next time they want to upgrade.