Software Licensing Secrets - Part 2
Samir Datt
Founder, ForensicsGuru.com | Fellow-Indian Police Foundation | Author | TEDx | President - Digital Investigators Assoc | Philanthropist|
My earlier article on software licensing secrets was very well received. I was thanked by a number of officers who appreciated the clarity with respect to the different licensing models and now could take an informed decision on whether to go for a perpetual licence or a term licence based on their budget availability and licensing needs.?
This encouraging response has led me to attempt to explain the concept of an AMC in the software industry. An Annual Maintenance Contract or an AMC is basically a sort of an insurance policy that takes care of all costs when something goes wrong with purchased hardware or equipment. In the Software world the supposed equivalent of the AMC is the SMS. The SMS or Software Maintenance and Support is essentially a contract wherein the Software developer undertakes to provide updates and bug fixes for the software during the maintenance period.?
A common question asked is “why do I need an SMS?” Most users can understand that an AMC is required for hardware since components will need to be changed or replaced in case of any failure of any sort. However when it comes to software, the question asked is that since there are no moving parts or parts that will fail and will need to be replaced, why should one spend money for an SMS, especially when the SMS is a lot costlier than its poor cousin the AMC.?
An SMS incorporates three things -
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Hopefully, this helps clear the confusion about software SMS’s and establishes the need to keep your software up to date.?
Do let me know in the comments if you found this useful.?
Student at Central University of Kashmir, Srinagar
2 年Thank you sir for sharing this information....
Managing Director at kctronics Innovative Consultancy Services Private Limited
2 年Well said, It's a nice clarification, however, I would like to say few lines on the distinguished clarity. When the question of AMC for Hardware , the engineers/scientists ruggedise their products through quality control processes and with the inclusion of redundancy features added to the systems ,MTTR periodicity gets reduced with less attention to the AMC.,except for any repair/replacement for any hardware failure ,it is ontime support is sufficient. But when the question of SMS for Software Sysyem development , it is an user application attributable factor. So, the software application requires a continuous process and support for which SMS is restricted to a particular set of users. If a user needs any update for any additional features for its application, then only one should prefer to go for SMS,else not required .And it works out well, no failure is anticipated,as such ,except some virus affected issues.For virus protection, AntiVirus software is sufficient to protect a system software . I must thank you for bringing such articles for public awareness. Please keep it up and have a good day,dear Sam.
Fraud Investigation! Digital Forensics! eDiscovery Specialist
2 年Sam, Couple of quick thoughts on this particular post. While SMS service provides for limited tech support during the period of the contract , it does not provide for any major updates after the SMS period is over. Similarly , product upgrades and version upgrades are normally not part of the SMS services. Is there any reason for the OEM to have this limited service? On the contrary when an AMC is signed for a hardware product , deficiencies in both hardware and software is covered. In my view, The software based forensic application should also offer both AMC as well as SMS services , where the end consumer can have better benefits resulting in consumer loyalty. Currently, except for certain products, the consumer loyalty among the forensic products among the users seem to be low. As a expert in the field , Your views are highly appreciated.
Fraud Investigation! Digital Forensics! eDiscovery Specialist
2 年Love this
Police Servant
2 年Thanks for sharing