CA offers usage-based pricing for mainframe tools
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Computer Associates Thursday introduced a usage-based pricing and licensing option for its mainframe management products, aligning its offerings with IBM&#39;s On Demand model.
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IBM has introduced two new Unix-based servers aimed at small- to mid-size businesses. Based on the Power5 microprocessor, the new servers join IBM&#39;s On Demand Express product line, and are priced starting at $3,993.
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Microsoft is offering a new subscription model to small businesses that will allow them to use the company&#39;s software for less cost than the currently available licensing model.The plan, called Open Value Subscription program, is part of Microsoft&#39;s effort to give small businesses more flexible and affordable options for purchasing software, said Cindy Bates, Microsoft&#39;s general manager for U.S. small business.The new plan costs about a third of the license-only expense for the current licensing program open to small business, called the Open Value program, Bates said. The plan is cheaper because Microsoft offers upfront discounts for software purchased through the subscription program, and also allows customers to increase or decrease pricing over the three-year subscription period if their business needs change, she said.Open Value Subscription includes Microsoft&#39;s Software Assurance program, the company&#39;s software maintenance and support program for business customers.Microsoft defines small businesses as those with 50 employees or fewer. Bates called 50 employees the &quot;break point&quot; for when a company hires IT management. Up until that number, &quot;usually it&#39;s the business owner or office manager&quot; handling the IT system, she said.Businesses will be able to sign up for the Open Value Subscription program beginning in March, Bates said. Microsoft products available through the program include Microsoft Office Small Business, Office Professional +, Windows Vista Business Upgrade, Small Business Server Client Access License (CAL), Core CAL, Desktop Professional Suite, and Small Business Desktop Suite.As part of its small-business outreach, Microsoft also this week is unveiling a partner program called &quot;Big Easy,&quot; which invests about $10 million in subsidies to small businesses purchasing products through partners.Through the program, small businesses purchasing certain products through authorized specialist partners will get a certain percentage of money back that they can use to purchase other services from those partners, Bates said.For example, a small business would get a maximum of 22 percent of the money it spends if it buys six or more products that are on the approved list. Bates said Microsoft has figured the average return will be about 15 percent to 17 percent on purchases for small businesses.Products available for subsidies under the Big Easy program include Microsoft Office products, Exchange Server, Forefront Security for Exchange Server, System Center Essentials, Project, Visio, Office SharePoint Server, Forefront Security for SharePoint, and Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006, among others.More information about Open Value Subscription can be found on Microsoft&#39;s Web site. The company also provides more information about the Big Easy on its Microsoft Small Business Community Blog.
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Blog: Is version 3 of the GNU General Public License asking for too much?
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The award for fees and costs comes in a case in which Microsoft agreed to allocate $1.1 billion for California consumers. By Associated Press.
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Software AG has bought the application modernization activities of Jacada, adding to its portfolio of tools for prolonging the life of mainframe applications by giving them a Web interface.The sale marks Jacada&#39;s move out of the application modernization and middleware software business in order to concentrate on development of call center systems.Software AG has bought the rights to Jacada&#39;s Terminal Emulator, Interface Server, and HostFuse products, among others. Jacada keeps its WorkSpace and WinFuse software, and rights to the Jacada brand.Eight of Jacada&#39;s research, development and support staff will join Software AG to maintain the application modernization products.Software AG will pay $26 million in cash for the business, which generates $12 million in annual revenue, it said Thursday.It will gain access to 200 of Jacada&#39;s 1,200 customers, mostly in the U.S., giving it a chance to expand its SOA (services-oriented architecture) work in an important market, it said.The deal is tiny compared to&#160;Software AG&#39;s purchase of U.S. software vendor webMethods: It paid $546 million for the SOA and business process management (BPM) company in June.Software AG is also looking to acquire other smaller companies or business units which could benefit from its global infrastructure. Earlier this year it paid $62 million for 80 percent of its Israeli distributor SPL Software.Also on Thursday, Jacada announced the appointment of a new CEO, Paul O&#39;Callaghan, from Jan. 1. President of the company since May 2006, he replaces Gideon Hollander, who will remain with the company as chairman.&#160;
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Company hopes to attract users who will later upgrade to its small business software.
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The tool is designed to inform users when their applications need patching.
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This organization uses standard hardware and software builds throughout the enterprise, so everything that works during testing should work fine for users -- shouldn't it?
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Blog: The software maker details its pricing for the "Live" version of its CRM software, as well as more information on the cut partners will get for selling it.
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Computer Associates will offer an on-demand pricing model for many of its mainframe applications. The licensing program uses what CA calls &quot;measured-workload pricing&quot; based on actual system
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Despite sub-$1000 prices, the answer still depends on what apps you run.
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It has been a busy few days at Computer Associates (CA) as the company first announced the acquisition of Netegrity and has now released details of a new licensing schema available on the company&#39;s large portfolio of mainframe software products.
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A Forrester study finds that corporate users are becoming increasingly frustrated with the license and maintenance costs of enterprise applications.
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Updated OS includes software applications designed for business users.
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IBM user group SHARE has released a study acknowledging mainframe usage in service-oriented architecture.
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How your computer could be costing you thousands of dollars.