Microsoft : OnLive, Cloud Provider of Windows and Office, Is Improperly Licensed - leewelinigh

OnLive, a company that lately began offering hosted Windows and Spot package remotely from its servers to iPad and Mechanical man tablet users, is in violation of Microsoft licensing rules, according to a Microsoft formalized.

"We are actively engaged with OnLive with the hope of bringing them into a properly licensed scenario, and we are engaged to eyesight this issue is single-minded," wrote Joe Matz, Microsoft's corporate vice chairperson of Worldwide Licensing and Pricing, in a blog send.

In Jan, OnLive launched OnLive Desktop, a free cloud service that offers its subscribers "a seamless" Windows desktop experience and "full-featured" Office applications, as described by the company's CEO Steve Pearlman in a blog post at the time.

To begin with on tap only for the iPad, OnLive Screen background now also works along Android tablets and the company plans to add support for Thomas More platforms. Fee-based versions of OnLive Desktop add more features, such as accelerated browse, extra storage and Flash support.

The servicing got a boost in popularity when The Fresh House of York Times' tech columnist David Pogue wrote about it in late February, which prompted a soar up in sign-ups as well as grumblings from other Microsoft screen background-as-a-service partners that felt OnLive was peripheral licensing rules.

Days by and by, Gartner analyst Michael Silver and two colleagues warned IT managers that information technology was blurred whether OnLive Desktop complies with Microsoft licensing agreements and to bring precautionary steps before allowing employees to use it, chief among them coming together with their Microsoft account team to get written guidance about licensing issues.

"In Gartner's view, if Microsoft were to conclude that OnLive is misusing its products, Microsoft could possibly take action against OnLive that could sham OnLive's power to service clients. Gartner believes that there's likewise a risk of infection that Microsoft could hold both OnLive and its customers responsible any potential mislicensing," Silver and his co-authors wrote on Feb. 29.

Microsoft Explains

Microsoft remained silent about the issue until Matz's post, published on Thursday good afternoon, in which he outlined how partners and outsourcers can use Windows 7 Clients happening hosted waiter platforms to deliver desktops Eastern Samoa a service patc complying with their licenses.

According to Matz, customers can have a partner host Windows 7 in a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for them, as long as the client has licensed the software directly from Microsoft. "The hosting hardware must be votive to, and for the benefit of the customer, and may not be shared by surgery with any other customers of that partner," he wrote.

Another valid scenario allows partners that wealthy person entered into the Services Provider Permission Agreement to provide "some screen background-like" functionality to any customer, evening those that haven't licensed the software in real time from Microsoft. The software involved is Windows Server and Remote Desktop Services.

However, partners aren't allowed to provide Windows 7 every bit a hosted client or Power as a service through with Windows 7. "Office may only represent provided equally a service if it is hosted happening Windows Server and Remote Desktop Services," atomic number 2 wrote.

Asked for gloss, an OnLive spokeswoman same along Friday via e-mail that the company's position is that "we have never commented on any licensing agreements."

Licensing Due an Update?

The situation highlights issues with Microsoft's licensing strategy, such atomic number 3 the fact that some of the voice communication, definitions and requirements are vague, Gartner's Silver same connected Fri. "In that location's a bunch of things that aren't entirely that considerably defined," he said.

To boot, Microsoft's licensing hasn't kept upward with branch of knowledge advances, indeed partners find themselves fit to provide certain features and functionality which are currently forbidden or complicated to deliver from a contractual standpoint, atomic number 2 said.

"Microsoft definitely of necessity to have their licensing catch ascending with technology. There's no doubt about that," Articulate said, adding that Microsoft too needs to make sure that it is retention up with client expectations.

Patc weighing new demands from customers and partners, Microsoft has to make trusted that if and when it modifies licensing terms, it doesn't hurt its business and its taxation stream, Silver said.

For exercise, Microsoft privy't change its licensing requirements in some respects that turns key products like Windows and Position into cheap commodities.

"The red-faced flag here [with OnLive] was that you [as a customer] can run a Windows desktop and a copy of Office without paying for IT. How does that cultivate? Someone has to be paying for IT. If it sounds too good to comprise true, it in all probability is," he said.

Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/quislingism suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology break news for The IDG Intelligence Armed service. Follow Juan on Chirrup at @JuanCPerezIDG.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/468959/microsoft_onlive_cloud_provider_of_windows_and_office_is_improperly_licensed-2.html

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