Sun's Infinite Pricing Scheme Reaches ...

Computerworld - ... Linux, Windows and even HP-UX for its integrated Java Enterprise System package. The JES components include application, portal, directory, identity, Web and other servers as well as a fistful of Java-based tools for deploying online applications. Currently Sun's "infinite" pricing policy applies only to its Solaris operating system and lets organizations license the array of Java components on an annual subscription basis at $100 per employee. You can still license software the old-fashioned way, says Stephen Borcich, executive director for Java enterprise technologies at Sun Microsystems Inc. "It's more complex, but it's your choice," he says. By the end of June, Sun will extend its unique pricing model to Linux users and in late 2004 to HP-UX and Windows fans. Companies that use the tools to extend applications to end users on the Internet or throughout their supply chains incur no extra charges. Furthermore, in June, Sun will offer developing nations a similar plan for the JES components at 33 cents per citizen. And in a move to attract more developers, later this year programmers anywhere in the world who buy Java Studio Enterprise will get a free Opteron server. Previously, the giveaway was good only for U.S.-based coders.
Dump shelfware while tracking ...
... company software usage down to the component level. That's the promise of this week's release of FLEXnet Manager from Macrovision Corp. in Santa Clara, Calif. "Most companies have no clue about how software is being used," claims Daniel Greenberg, Macrovision's vice president for worldwide marketing. Market research company IDC backs up Greenberg, noting that 67% of you don't bother to track your software assets. Given the billions upon billions of dollars spent on software each year, that seems a bit of an oversight. FLEXnet manager drops a small agent on machines whose licenses you want to manage and keeps tabs on who's using what and when, giving you a better handle on how to distribute applications. You can even use it to track your own custom apps - a help when you want to bill back departments. Speaking of billing, FLEXnet Manager even has a reporting tool for the CFO so the finance department can plan expenses more accurately. Pricing starts at $20,000.
Indian SAP project managers "jumping ...
... ship," which frustrates companies that went offshore with their ERP operations. That's the claim from Christopher Carter, CEO of Carter Consulting Inc. in Hales Corners, Wis. But it has also helped him to "bring on more remote American SAP workers" to manage ERP sites