Stacy's Tech Blog

I own a company that provides managed services, professional services and infrastructure hosting services. I have a product offering where the only thing the client needs to operate their business is an endpoint (desktop, workstation, laptop, thin client – which I can manage and protect) and connectivity (which I can manage and optimize).

Nice, eh? Good value for the customer and it leverages economies of scale for my business. One would think that it’s a pretty nice solution, especially with the Microsoft SPLA program and Citrix Service Provider Programs.

But guess what? I cannot offer a complete solution to my clients. You know why? Because I choose to deliver my solution using virtualization technology to leverage economies of scale in computing hardware.

Example:

A client has an SBS 2003 Premium server (AD, SQL, Exchange, File/Print, etc). They also have 20 workstations running Windows XP Professional with Office 2003/2007 installed along with a Line-of-Business application that uses a SQL database on the server.

Currently, their server is older and pretty close to end-of-life and they’re looking to forklift this to new hardware. Problem is, they have an OEM install of SBS and the cost of new server hardware is not appealing..

My proposal:

Using XenServer + XenDesktop I provide them 24 VMs (1 SBS Server + 23 Virtual Desktops (w/Office + LOB App installed)) for a monthly fee based on usage. That monthly fee includes all software licenses and guarantees that they will have the computing power that they need to operate their business.

They can “pay for what they use”. They only use 20 desktops this month? They only pay for 20. They have 23 next month? They only pay for 23? It’s calculated monthly and is a nice offering.

They don’t have to buy a new server every 3-5 years. They can continue to use the workstation hardware with the Citrix Receiver installed on a minimal operating system. They don’t have to worry about paying for licenses they don’t use. The infrastructure is in a solid datacenter which means redundant power, internet connectivity and with the tools I use, a solid backup solution to my storage pool, antivirus, etc.

BUT I cannot offer them this solution as I’ve stated above. Why? Because I cannot license the desktop operating system (Windows XP, Vista or 7) through the SPLA program.

The only way this works, according to Microsoft, is if the client has licenses for each virtual desktop (which I can manage for them, but they must purchase) AND those virtual desktops MUST run on server hardware that is dedicated to them. So, I would have to dedicate a physical server or servers to that customer and no other customer’s virtual machines can be run on that hypervisor. And the customer still has to pay me + Microsoft for the “complete” solution.

What does this mean? I cannot gain maximum efficiency in server hardware utilization using virtualization technology. And that’s with ANY hypervisor, Citrix XenServer, VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, etc. This also increases the price I must charge to ensure that I’m profitable on the offering and account for hardware utilization.

So, unless the person I’m dealing with at Microsoft is wrong or I have totally misinterpreted what the SPLA program agreement and licensing is telling me, Microsoft has basically shot my offering in the foot. They’re asking me to run a marathon with one arm tied behind my back. Can I do it? Yes, I can, however, my finish time will be much slower.

This problem is contrary to where the entire IT Services industry is going.

So, Microsoft. Here’s my Holiday Wish: Fix this!

A) Allowing me to sell desktop operating systems via SPLA and
B) do not limit me on how I provide that operating system to the end-user (e.g., virtual machine delivered via some protocol – RDP/ICA)

If I’m wrong about this, I will post an update to this article and give my mea culpa accordingly, but as of right now, according to Microsoft, I’m not.

Happy Holidays!