Users pay for licence fix

In a move condemned by users and rivals as a thinly disguised price hike, Microsoft has announced that it will no longer offer corporate customers concurrent user licensing for the Office suite.

The software giant claims that such licences - which count the number of simultaneous users rather than the number of seats installed - are unpopular and difficult to verify.

Microsoft's competitors in the desktop software arena show no sign of following Microsoft's lead.

Canadian software developer Corel, the developer of Wordperfect Suite, said it has no plans to end concurrent user licensing.

A Lotus spokesperson said that the company also had no intention of changing its licensing policy for Smartsuite, which offers users a choice between concurrent user licensing and per-seat licensing.

At least one software administration manager with a major European bank disagrees with Microsoft about the unpopularity of concurrent usage agreements - among users, he insists, the licences are popular. 'Whenever we can get a concurrent user license from a vendor, we go for it,' he said. 'It always works out cheaper.'

He admitted that concurrent usage is difficult to track. 'In practice, there generally is no verification. But that adds to the flexibility of the arrangement,' he said, adding that the licensing policy change is 'clearly to the advantage of Microsoft.'

Microsoft was unable to comment at press time.