Socitm ponders single Microsoft licence

Most of the UK public sector could be covered by a single Microsoft licence by February, following talks this week.

Local authorities user group the Society of Information Technology Managers (Socitm) is meeting with Microsoft today to discuss a UK local government licensing agreement.

The meeting is in response to the changes in the software giant's licensing, which come into effect in 2002 and which Socitm believes could cost local authorities as much as £80m over the next two years.

Depending on the success of the negotiations between Microsoft, Socitm and the Office of Government Commerce, an agreement covering local authorities, central government and the police could be in place in three months, Socitm national secretary Bob Griffith told vnunet.com's sister publication Computing.

"We are interested in what will actually improve the situation for our members. There is the potential for some sort of agreement," he said.

Socitm suggested that members which are considering signing up to a new licensing agreement should wait until negotiations are complete.

The talks come in the wake of two mega-deals signed by the public sector with Microsoft.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Defence signed a three-year agreement to allow it to roll out the latest versions of Microsoft products across 120,000 desktops, replacing thousands of individual licences bought every year. The MoD says the move will result in significant savings in administration costs.

And in September the National Health Service signed a deal to replace the 35,000 separate deals currently in place, which it claims will save £50m over three years.

Socitm is also supporting discussions on a combined user working group of Elite, The Infrastructure Forum and the Institute for the Management of Information Services to co-ordinate communications with Microsoft on licensing.