Enterprise Software Licensing Challenges

🧭 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 — 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 In just the past fortnight, licensing behaviour among major vendors has taken two sharp turns - and the ripple effects are already reaching enterprise estates. ⚠️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘄 (𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵) 1. 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘅 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 — 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 Citrix has announced that from April 2026, products still running under its file-based legacy licensing will begin to lose key functionality as the company transitions to a cloud-based License Activation Service (LAS). It’s a clear message: if your stack still relies on “old school” licensing mechanisms, you may be facing forced migration under duress. 2. 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗼𝘃 2025 Starting 1 November, Microsoft will eliminate tiered discounting (waterfall discounts) on Microsoft 365, Office 365, Dynamics, and other Online Services under EA / MPSA. 3. 𝗠𝗦𝗣𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗣𝗟𝗔 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮 (𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆) A seismic change: as of 30 September 2025 (today), MSPs can no longer use their own SPLA-licensed software on “Listed Providers” (e.g. AWS, Azure, Google) unless they obtain the licenses directly from those hyperscalers. Impact: the arbitrage window for MSPs just shut - many service providers will now see cost pressure or forced restructuring on how they deliver hosted workloads. 4. 𝗩𝗠𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 - 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗼𝗺 Tesco has filed a £100 million claim against Broadcom, accusing it of abrupt licence contract changes, sharp price hikes (c. 237% claimed) and undermining prior terms. 🚀 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗗𝗼) These shifts confirm that licensing is no longer a “set and forget” discipline — it’s now strategic, high stakes, and fast moving. - Audit entitlements vs usage - Realign software consumption to true demand — don’t get blindsided by over- or under-licensing. - Build vendor elasticity - Push for cross-cloud license portability, hybrid rights, or BYOL models as fallback. - Plan migrations early - For software (like Citrix) that will sunset legacy licensing, map paths now. - Resist “sticker” pricing - Use usage data, historical baselines and alternative options to counter blunt pricing changes (e.g. Microsoft flattening). 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 1. How exposed are we to these pricing changes? 2. Do we have a plan for Teams unbundling? 3. Are we budgeting for security add-ons? #SoftwareLicensing #DigitalStrategy #AI #ITGovernance #CIOInsights #Citrix #Microsoft #Compliance #EnterpriseTech

When the cloud revolution began, many of us envisioned a future free from the shackles of traditional software licensing. ☁️ The reality, however, did not meet our expectations. Instead of simplifying, the cloud era has amplified the intricacies of software licensing. The promise of flexibility brought with it a tenfold increase in licensing complexity. 🌀 Today, it's not just about buying a software license. It's about understanding usage patterns, scaling requirements, and navigating a labyrinth of terms and conditions. The cloud didn't eliminate licensing; it transformed it into a dynamic, ever-evolving challenge. 📜 Moreover, with the rise of FinOps, financial operations specifically tailored to cloud economics, the landscape has become even more intricate. Overspending is just a misconfiguration away. Without expertise in both FinOps and licensing, you can quickly find yourselves drowning in unexpected costs. 💸 So, what's the solution? Continuous education and collaboration. As professionals, we need to equip ourselves with the knowledge of both FinOps and licensing. Moreover, we need to make sure FinOps and ITAM teams collaborate, not compete, and truly harness the power of the cloud. 🌐 #CloudComputing #SoftwareLicensing #FinOps #SAMexpert Feel free to share, comment, and discuss your experiences below! 👇🏼

Your software deal might be worthless without a source code escrow clause. Most SaaS or licensing agreements never ask: What happens if the vendor disappears? I’ve seen companies pay millions for mission-critical software, only to: Lose access when the vendor goes bankrupt. Be stuck with compiled code, unable to fix bugs or integrate. Face months of downtime because there’s no legal right to the source code. The fix: Add a source code escrow clause with a neutral escrow agent. Define release triggers (bankruptcy, failure to support, breach). Ensure the escrow includes documentation, builds, and dependencies. Without this, your software license is just a promise with no backup plan. _ Hello, I’m Gvantsa, a Partner at GBPLO. I specialize in providing thorough legal support to entrepreneurs facing diverse business challenges and building efficiency in legal ops.

Who can stop the mighty Broadcom? They've cracked the code: Acquire. Squeeze. Scale. And VMware is the masterpiece. After refining the model through acquisitions like CA Technologies and Symantec, Broadcom perfected it with VMware: • Strip out complexity • Kill legacy SKUs • Enforce bundling and longer terms • Raise prices—significantly • Prioritize large, committed customers The result? Massive revenue acceleration—but rising frustration across the ecosystem. Cloud providers, resellers, and enterprise customers are now navigating licensing chaos and cost spikes. CISPE to the rescue? A coalition of European cloud providers, CISPE, has filed a legal challenge to the EU’s approval of the VMware acquisition. They claim Broadcom is abusing its now dominant position and systematically squeezing smaller players out of the market. And CISPE isn’t just making noise, they’ve successfully pushed Microsoft to revise cloud licensing terms in Europe. Now they’re taking on Broadcom. And the European General Court has the power to annul merger approvals if legal or competitive harm is found. Here’s what CISPE is alleging: • Contracts terminated – VMware abruptly dropped many small cloud providers from its partner program • Locked out – Cloud licensing is now invite-only, favoring only the largest global partners • Prices skyrocketed – Increases of 2x to 10x, plus long-term commitments that punish smaller providers with unpredictable demand • No way to compete – For small providers built on VMware, the new model makes survival nearly impossible Even if the court doesn’t intervene, the pressure is building. It’s about time someone stood up to this kind of vendor behavior.