Tuesday, 10 July 2007

Past Delays Haunting Microsoft

Past delays in attending to customer needs is hurting Microsoft, a new study says. It has prompted some businesses to rethink about renewing the long-term service agreements...

Past delays in attending to customer needs is hurting Microsoft, a new study says. It has prompted some businesses to rethink about renewing the long-term service agreements that include rights to upgrade to future versions of its programs.

According to a Forrester Research study, twenty-six per cent of the 61 IT professionals surveyed said they had decided not to renew their Microsoft Software Assurance agreements when they expire, opting instead to buy the software as needed.

Julie Giera, the Forrester Research vice president said she began to hear "many more companies" express frustration about Software Assurance and ask about the consequences of dropping out of the programme.

The report cited factors including gaps of more than five years between the last two releases of Windows and SQL Server. Windows Vista was delayed as Microsoft diverted development teams to deal with security problems in Windows XP, its predecessor.

The Forrester report says the annual cost of Microsoft's Software Assurance is 25 per cent to 29 per cent of what customers would pay in licensing fees for a new version of the software.

In some cases, the product delays meant that companies paid more in annual Software Assurance fees than if they had purchased the programs.

In addition, the report cited uncertainty about release schedules for future Microsoft products, including the next versions of Windows and Office.