Open Letter to Microsoft Technet

Sent to the Canadian Editor of TechNet Flash…

Hi Pierre,

Thanks for the latest article from Technet flash.  I notice now though when I go in to the Technet website under my Enterprise licensing, I no longer can download software for eval/ testing purposes.  Is this a recent change?  I don’t frequently use this as Microsoft is not the only technology we utilize but it is a benefit that I have grown used to in my many years in Enterprise IS management and technology roles.

 

If you have any input or can provide feedback to your team, you can let them know that I am disappointed in the loss of this important tool.  I guess I can always go back to signing up for evaluation software as required but I find the process extremely onerous and it in itself will be a detractor from my doing so.  Also having software that doesn’t timeout or expire in our test labs means that I can manage our projects to our own schedule rather than having a ticking timebomb waiting to expire while I struggle with supporting daily operations while looking at new technology.

 

I’m not sure of the logic behind the decision.  I wasn’t keen on the subscription model of a yearly cost from Microsoft and frequent “True-up” requests.  One of the saving graces was access to all Microsoft software for testing and evaluation.  Maybe I need to go back to buying my software and upgrading when budget cycles allow.  It may even be more fiscally responsible as reviewing competitive options with a proper business case rather than just standardizing on a single technology partner who no longer supports me is no longer viable.

Yours (past tense),

Mike Kirby

Manager, Information Systems

Yukon Hospital Corporation