It's bad enough when Microsoft strong-arms other software vendors into submission as a means of thwarting competition. But when it engages in underhanded tactics to intimidate users in order to land a software deal, we have a very disturbing situation on our hands. And someone needs to have the guts to speak out about it.
And I wonder why MS and I have a love-hate relationship? Just when you think you love them you find out they do stuff like this. Sheesh!
This is a sad but not uncommon tactic. I have heard similar stories from MS clients and customers with varying levels of credibility assigned to the sources. Other companies seem to do it more often.
ReplyDeleteRemember; when MS or anyone else gets a "licensing consultant" inside your door, they are there with the sole goal of making you pay more, under any guise, whether it's increased licensing fees or penalties for real or imagined infractions.
I was speaking just the other day with a fellow tech who had had another company pull this sort of thing on one of his clients. Their email and snail mail correspondence was quite a bit juicier and more threatening than what this article depicts. After seeking legal advice, this company contacted their county attorney, who had two investigators in the office for the "audit" which, incidentally, turned up no wrongdoing. My friend attributes this to the fact that the county attorneys were there.
Protect yourself, at all costs. I have dealt with Microsoft on bringing firms into license compliance when my clients were clearly in the wrong and the process of getting compliant was actually quite painless. That's the difference between approaching MS on your own and being singled out by them as a target.
Jack