Applications & OS News
What's Wrong With Software Licensing Models?
Meghan Ottolini
Red Hat aims to further disrupt the traditional software space, this time attacking traditional licensing models. At the company’s recent Summit in Boston, executives pointed out the expenses incurred around a traditional license.
’Many companies sell you a license, and then they sell you a maintenance fee. Every year they sell you a maintenance fee. [If] you want to upgrade to another version, [they say], 'Well, let’s go back to the licensing fee.' That’s the business model that they have,’ said Red Hat Vice President of Customer Experience and Engagement Marco Bill-Peter.
’Our business model is different. It’s open source, and it’s around a subscription,’ he said.
Bill-Peter said the benefits of the subscription model include ’mature open-source software,’ global support, certified security, certifications and globalization.
Bill-Peter compared Red Hat’s service model to a cellphone subscription, noting that it’s not quite as simple with software, but both guarantee a level of customer service to prevent customers from leaving at the end of a subscription period.
PUBLISHED JUNE 30, 2015
