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The UK Software Management and Licensing Conference
21st April 2010
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June 2010Update on Copyright Case LawUK copyright case law has finally come into the twenty first century with the decision of Mr Justice Kitchin in Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation & others v Newzbin Limited. We finally have a significant decision subsequent to Amstrad on authorisation and joint infringement of copyright infringement in the context of information services. Newzbin provide indexing services for messages posted on UseNet services (which provide the equivalent of electronic bulletin boards). The messages can carry text but also other types of files including films, software and music. Indexing services are necessary particularly for large files which are split up to enable distribution, UseNet only being designed to distribute files of small size. The indexing, categorisation and file checking and sourcing services of Newzbin allowed users to locate, reconstitute and download files containing such large content which would be practically impossible otherwise. Newzbin claimed that they were content neutral and did not know about the content indexed...Read more... | |
June 2010Whitehall’s focus on long term IT budget cuts deflects focus on cost cutting in short termWhilst public sector budgets will be falling in 2010, Whitehall’s preoccupation with long term strategies may defocus initiatives to reduce costs today, and in doing so, create barriers to lasting efficiency gains.As the nation’s current £167bn budget deficit continues to drive cost cutting initiatives, IT spend is also coming under the spotlight, fuelled by the upcoming Conservative budget. If they choose to continue the pattern set by Labour, there is a real danger that focus on macro spending cuts,... Read more... | June 2010Conquest of "Software Change"In the era of Technology turbulence, with software upgrades and hardware upgrades happening in quick succession, Software Asset Management (SAM) has become every CIO’s nightmare. On the other hand Software Release management poses as a nightmare for ISVs. At Rave (Rave Technolgies), we have devised a niche offering which could offer a respite to both. Most of the CIO’s use SAM software to track software assets. These tools help to systematically track software installs, licenses and actual usage in order to help reduce IT exp...Read more... |
June 2010Enterprise License Optimisation Must Become a Board-level PriorityThe pressure on IT departments of enterprises to reduce costs whilst still ensuring a high quality of service continues unabated. The National Computing Centre (NCC) survey findings of IT infrastructure plans in the UK reveals that in 2010 several companies are delaying infrastructure investments. In total, 38% of companies are postponing hardware upgrades, while 33% are putting software refreshes on hold. The NCC’s Evaluation Centre interviewed more than 100 companies for the surve...Read more... | June 2010Agent-less versus Agent-based: the debate continuesSystems, infrastructure and IT asset management affect the whole organisation. It is not uncommon for organisations to have a multitude of management tools, each used by a subset of the organisation, often with an overlap in functionality providing distinctly separate views of the same assets. These systems may be agent-less or agent-based depending upon the purpose and functionality of the software. Creating a balance with each technology overcomes this. To understand the debate further, there are three main areas that any...Read more... |
June 2010SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE (SaaS) – LICENSING CONSIDERATIONSIncreased bandwidth and reliability of the internet coupled with the availability of more sophisticated encryption technologies mean that organisations are able to look more seriously at the potential commercial benefits of making their software available to subscribers via the internet. This deployment model is commonly known in the IT industry as 'software-as-a-service' ("SaaS"). Under the traditional SaaS deployment model, a software application resides at an offsite data centre wh...Read more... | June 2010Proactive Preparation Simplifies Software AuditsSoftware audits are a fact of life for the modern enterprise. While nothing can stop a vendor from auditing, there are a number of things IT managers can do to prepare for the possibility of an audit by shifting from a defensive to a negotiating posture. Fair is Fair Like everyone else,...Read more... |
May 2010Software Management and Licensing Conference 2010Following the success of the inaugural event in 2009, the second UK software Management and Licensing Conference took place on Wednesday 21 April 2010 at Reading's Madejski Stadium. This annual one-day event was organised by the Software Industry Research Board (SIRB), to bring together industry leaders from the Software community to share their knowledge on effective licence management processes, policies and procedures with end user organisations. More than 140 delegates from all sectors of UK private and public sector organisations...Read more... | May 2010Getting Started with Cloud ComputingCloud computing is a big economic, green and scalable gift to organizations around the globe. The New Year offers a great opportunity to re-think your IT strategy and see how the cloud can benefit your organization.The day when IT leaders no longer have to worry about expensive internal data centers is fast becoming reality. The cloud allows you to rent your infrastructure, your platform, and/or your software. This simple pay-as-you-go cost model offers greater scalability and flexibility, and is very similar to the subscription based software model employed by open source companies... Read more... |
May 2010Commoditisation of ITIT has become a foundation stone in our lives - pervading all aspects of business and a keystone to personal and social communications. We now conduct our banking, buying, bonding and business in a wireless, real time world without a second thought on ‘how it works.’ “Free applications” or low barrier micro payment mechanisms enabled this economic model to evolve, however with this enterprise software, the retailer pays in advance for readiness. This high water mark perpetual licensing is increasingly archaic and unfit for the actual technologies and applications...Read more... | |
