ATLANTA – December 12, 2012 – NPI, a leading spend management consulting firm, advises Microsoft customers to prepare for rising license costs and less usage flexibility in 2013. As a result of significant changes in Microsoft's licensing programs, as well as software and server price increases, many enterprises will see their Microsoft expenditures grow in the coming year.
"Vendors like Microsoft are responding to sweeping market trends such as BYOD, cloud computing and the general consumerization of IT. Many of them are revising their pricing and licensing models to capture associated revenue. As a result it's never been more confusing and never been easier to overspend on enterprise software than it is today," said Jon Winsett, CEO of NPI.
In the last 15 months, Microsoft has announced a shift from per-server to per-processor licensing for Microsoft Windows Server 2012, and a 20 percent increase to Standard Edition pricing. These changes have the potential to drive enterprise server costs up by as much as 243 percent.
The vendor has also made notable changes to its two client access license (CAL) programs including a 15 percent user CAL price increase, and new terms that require licenses for all devices (not just desktops) under device CAL agreements, capitalizing on the growing population of multi-device users.
The elimination of External Connector Licenses for Exchange, Lync and Sharepoint Servers means that many customers will be required to purchase of additional user CALs to support their external users.
To mitigate and less the impact of these changes, NPI advises that Microsoft customers do the following:
1. Conduct a mid-term Microsoft health check. Analyze the immediate impact of Microsoft's pricing and licensing changes, including how and when they will impact IT costs.
2. Re-evaluate the short-term and long-term Microsoft strategy and roadmap. Determine which offerings will be used in the short-term as well as three years down the road. Estimate device proliferation, and how virtualization and cloud computing will grow within the company.
3. Time software assurance, enterprise agreements and CAL negotiations accordingly. Microsoft will undoubtedly announce more licensing and pricing changes in 2013. Time renewals and/or renegotiations before these changes take effect.
4. Conduct an internal compliance audit. Microsoft is aggressively auditing clients as a way to capture missed revenues. Companies should always be in compliance with contract terms and conditions. Those that fail to do so risk losing discounts and leverage with Microsoft.
For more information on NPI's Microsoft advisory services, please visit http://www.npifinancial.com/npi-microsoft-cost-reduction/.
About NPI
NPI is a spend management consulting firm that protects companies from overspending in specific cost categories – information technology, telecommunication and transportation. Using a combination of market experts, proprietary methodologies and extensive data, NPI ensures that prices and terms are best-in-class.. Reviewing more than 14,000 purchases annually, NPI provides objective oversight for billions of dollars of strategic spend for its clients. To learn more about how NPI can help your company start saving today, visit www.npifinancial.com or call 404-591-7500.
###
Media Contact
Hannah Bower
Bower Communications
404.247.1123
Hannah@bower-communications.com
About NPI
NPI is a IT Cost Reduction & Cost Management Services that protects companies from overspending in specific cost categories – information technology, telecommunication and transportation. Using a combination of market experts, proprietary methodologies and extensive data, NPI ensures that prices and terms are best-in-class.. Reviewing more than 14,000 purchases annually, NPI provides objective oversight for billions of dollars of strategic spend for its clients. To learn more about how NPI can help your company start saving today, visit www.npifinancial.com or call 404-591-7500.
###
Media Contact
Hannah Bower
Bower Communications
404.247.1123
Hannah@bower-communications.com
Newswire.net
Source: EmailWire.Com 
