Per-Processor Licensing — It's All About Core Values

What, exactly, is a processor? IT sourcing professionals are finding it increasingly hard to answer this apparently simple question when applying their "per-CPU" hardware-based software license agreements to servers containing multicore processors. While some software companies still count a processor as a processor, others count each core, with some even taking into account the brand, type, and speed of chip At the heart of the problem is a fundamental difference of opinion within the software industry on a key question: As data inflation drives up enterprises' demand for processing power, should chip technology improvements, in line with Moore's law, preserve the value of the customer's software license or create a revenue annuity for the software vendor? Software buyers should resist suppliers' attempts to change license metrics retroactively. For new purchases, a prospective vendor's policy on this important issue reveals a lot about its fundamental priorities — buyers should ensure that their colleagues take this into account in their product selection decisions.