Here at NeKY RHIO we try to stay brand neutral as much as possible, but it is nearly impossible to avoid Microsoft. That’s why licensing is so important for small and medium sized businesses. Licensing is a term many people recognize but probably don’t understand the intricacies and how it might be affecting your organization. I have seen many organizations that have, to their credit, tried their best to properly license the products they use but licensing agreements are complicated and these organizations end up getting in trouble anyway.
For example, virtually every organization I work with uses Microsoft Office products in some way; most seem to use Office 365 in some capacity. However, many of these organizations are in violation of the licensing that Microsoft lays out for them in the End User License Agreement (EULA). That’s because Office 365 is licensed on a per user basis, and these organizations treat it as though it is a per device model. While using Office 365 this way does save money, it also put the company at risk because essentially they are pirating software. What does that mean? If you are using Office 365 contrary to your licensing agreement, you are breaking the law.
One of the greatest sources of confusion that I have seen comes from the use of Windows server Client Access Licenses (CALs). Many organizations I work with have implemented a terminal server in some way. When the terminal server was implemented, they were required to purchase Windows server RDS CALs. That requirement is all they know about CALs in general. Most are unaware that even though many Microsoft products do not outright require a CAL to function, it is still needed to operate legitimately within Microsoft’s licensing agreements.
When people see the cost of properly licensing Windows products they are often taken aback. A license for each user for RDS is about $125. Each CAL is in the range of $50 and you need one for every user, for each server, and the basic package with no CALs costs around $600 to begin with.
With costs like that, it’s easy to see why many people might want to opt for the “free” open source options available by many Linux operating systems. In some environments this option makes the most sense, but for the vast majority of small and medium businesses this is simply not the case. In fact, it’s not the case for many larger businesses either, because for them economies of scale start to work in their favor.
“Free isn’t Free”
When we move into the world of open source technology one of the problems that we quickly run into is that free isn’t free. To more clearly explain, think about it like this. While the puppy was free, the food and shelter it needs isn’t. Open source projects are typically one size fits all deployments that will require high Human Resource costs to maintain to the company’s exact needs. Other open source projects are highly specialized because they were built by one person for their specific needs, so they need a lot of work to be used for any other company.
If a company does find an open source project that fits its needs perfectly today, it won’t last. Technology is constantly changing and that open source project likely won’t be updated or developed consistently. Which means a company would have to spend lots of time waiting for a fix, find a new solution entirely, or hire someone to try to fix it. Keep in mind that the typical salary for a software developer is somewhere between $65,000-$85,000 per year in the Appalachian area. Open source technology may seem like a good idea at first, but remember the phrase “free isn’t free” is popular for a reason.
I have many colleagues from different sectors that will staunchly disagree with me about open source technology. If you’re a software developer or like to work with open source technology as a hobby, then open source may be right for you. But in the healthcare environment we very rarely have the luxury of waiting weeks or months for technology to be updated or bugs to be fixed. With that in mind, paying a few thousand dollars every four years to upgrade software (and $500 per trouble ticket with Microsoft) doesn’t seem so bad. Especially since staying up-to-date with licensing agreements means avoiding the risk of being sued for non-compliance.
Licensing agreements are an important part of your business. That’s why we internally audit our members for licensing compliance and guide management to ensure that all requirements are met. Thanks to NeKY RHIO, our members don’t have to worry about non-compliance issues.
Not a member? Consider doing your own internal audit for licensing compliance. Even if you think you’re trying to follow the law, you may be making a mistake somewhere. You don’t want to wait for Microsoft to find it. Make sure you are properly licensing all your products today.