The 3 M's?

>I'm not surprised. Everytime I've had to buy Microsoft software for work, I go to our reseller's web site and am faced with about three dozen sku's for the same product, all with different pricing. I would get the one I thought was what I wanted then call our rep to verify. Often times, she suggested a different SKU that was less expensive. So, not all resellers fleece their customers, but to be fair, we have three reps dedicated to our company.
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>>I attended a "Ramp Up Your Business" partner seminar on SBS/EBS 2008 this morning. I'd already attended a couple of local user group meetings on SBS/EBS so they weren't totally new to me.
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>>What was surprising was that we were subjected to about an hour in-depth talk given by a senior honcho of Synnex Canada, explaining Open License, Open Value, Software Assurance (the infamous SA) and their intricacies. With a total audience of 45 to 50 people:
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>>- Several people complained fairly bitterly about how complex it is to figure out the best licensing options to offer clients/customers. It was clear that what gets offered to clients is not always what is best for the client, rather sometimes what's best for the partner/VAR etc. One actually remarked that "the problem is the Internet, my clients can see what other options will cost" i.e. relying on client ignorance to fleece them.
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>>- There were 5 or 6 questions about downgrading software, specifically what could be used to downgrade to XP Pro, how SA affects that etc. Some of the questions were quite involved, the Synnex guy didn't know the answers. Upgrading from XP to Vista was not mentioned at all by the audience, it was mentioned only by the presenters in the context of advantages to SA
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>>- The Synnex guy was directly challenged twice by different audience members, who said that they aren't able to sell anything other than OEM to their clients who intend to hold on to their computers for more than 3 years because OL/OV/SA are not cost-effective. He had no reply to that.
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>>- For one particular SKU the audience was encouraged to take advantage of up to 3 incentives/kickbacks from MS (for a limited time only) - "go ahead, double- or triple-dip us"
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>>Coming in I already knew that MS licensing can be complex - the first time I spec'd out a multi-server solution for a client that involved SBS 2003 R2, it took a day and a half for me to get clear answers on what license components we needed - and that was working with a Dell small business rep (not terribly helpful, as it turned out). I was shocked by how complex things *really* are - I remember thinking a couple of times, "I can't imagine how this could get any more complicated" - just before the presenter went ahead and did exactly that.
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>>At the end of that segment the presenter remarked, "By the way - if you pass two exams [70-121 and 70-122] you can become a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) - in Licensing". Six exam vouchers were then raffled off.
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>>Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you read that right - if you don't get lucky and win a voucher, you have to pay to take these exams ($125 each). MS has succeeded in productizing (official MS-speak) the complexity of their licensing.