[A2k] UK Schools: MS Anti-competitive practices and "approach" to document interoperability

[Manon Ress]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Becta refers Microsoft to the Office of Fair Trading
http://news.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=3D34425

Becta, the government's education technology agency, has today made a
complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for alleged anti-
competitive practices by Microsoft in the schools software
marketplace and in relation to Microsoft's approach to document
interoperability.

An interim report published by Becta in January 2007 into Microsoft's
Academic Licensing arrangements highlighted a number of fundamental
concerns impacting on choice, competition in the marketplace and
value for money for schools. A separate report into Vista and Office
2007 highlighted concerns in relation to interoperability.

Since their publication, Becta has been in discussions with Microsoft
to secure the changes necessary to address the issues identified in
both reports. Some progress has been made, though a number of
fundamental issues remain unresolved. These centre around the
limitations Microsoft places on schools using its subscription
licensing arrangements and the potential interoperability
difficulties for schools, pupils and parents who wish to use
alternatives to Microsoft's Office suite, including 'free to use'
alternatives.

Becta is determined to get the best deal it can for schools and
indeed for the wider educational system, and to make it as cost-
effective and convenient as possible for educational customers to
acquire the ICT products and services they choose. This demands an
effective educational ICT marketplace and the avoidance of
impediments to effective competition and choice.

As no agreement has been reached with Microsoft in a number of key
areas, and after reviewing detailed legal advice, Becta has taken the
decision to make a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading. It is
hoped that by taking this step Microsoft will move promptly to
address the issues raised.

In the interim, Becta's advice to schools considering moving to
Microsoft's School Agreement subscription licensing model is that
they should not do so. Schools must be legally licensed for all the
software they are using, and if licensing Microsoft products is an
imperative they should consider using a perpetual agreement such as
'Select' until such time as the OFT have responded to our complaint.

If schools have already entered into a School Agreement licensing
model they should consider their renewal and their buyout options
alongside any findings the OFT may make.

Becta's advice to schools in relation to the deployment of Office
2007 remains that schools and colleges should only deploy Office 2007
when its interoperability with alternative products is satisfactory.
That would necessarily imply effective support by Microsoft of the
internationally approved ODF file format.

Becta's final report, on Microsoft's Academic Licensing Programmes,
which was scheduled for January 2008, will now be deferred until
after the outcome of our complaint to the Office of Fair Trading is
known. Becta's final report on Vista and Office 2007 is scheduled for
publication in January 2008.
Notes for editors
Perpetual Licensing

A perpetual licence is one which enables you to purchase software as
and when required and gives you the right to use the software
permanently, without having to pay any more money for it apart from
the initial purchase price.

There are three main perpetual licensing models available to the
education sector:

     * For organisations that want to purchase one or two licences
they could purchase Full Packaged Product (FPP) licences.
     * Smaller institutions can use the Academic Open Licence
programme, where they can purchase five or more perpetual software
licences.
     * Academic Select Licence Agreement is aimed at academic
institutions with 250 or more PCs and which have mixed product and
purchasing requirements. The agreement runs for three years and can
be extended.

Academic Select licensing is usually the most cost effective way for
educational institutions to acquire perpetual licenses. FPP is
usually the most expensive way to purchase perpetual licences.
Subscription Licensing

A subscription licence is a non-perpetual licence which gives you the
right to use the software for a specified period of time and payment
for this type of licence is usually on an annual basis. At the end of
the subscription period (usually one or three years) you can choose
to renew the agreement, convert to a perpetual licence, or stop using
the software.

There are two different versions of subscription agreement available:

     * School Agreement Subscription is for education institutions
who have pre-16 students. Pricing is based on a per PC basis and all
eligible PCs must be included.
     * Campus Agreement Subscription is for post-16 only education
institutions and pricing is based on the numbers of eligible staff.
The licences purchased cover all eligible PCs.

Contact details
Author =09Press Officer
Telephone =09024 7679 7146
Email =09press@becta.org.uk


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Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@keionline.org,

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Il vaut mieux remuer une question, sans la d=E9cider, que la d=E9cider,
sans la remuer.
Pens=E9es, essais, maximes et correspondance de J. Joubert  p.249
http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Visualiseur?Destination=3DGallica&O=3DNUMM-88671
Translation: It is better to debate a question without settling it
than to settle a question without debating it