MS looks to increase installed base of licensed

Kolkata: Microsoft Corporation is contemplating the rollout of a “subscription-based software model” with a view to facilitating an increase in the installed base of licensed software, according to Deepak Maheshwari, Director, Legal and Corporate Affairs, Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt Ltd.

Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on ‘Information Security’ organised here on Friday by the Confederation of Indian Industry (Eastern Region), Maheshwari said the number of people who pay for the software they use was very low.

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The unit cost of software can come down only if the number of people paying for it goes up. To facilitate an increase in the installed base of software that is paid for, Microsoft was toying with the idea of unveiling a subscription-based software model।

Maheshwari, however, could not throw any light on when the initiative would be rolled out and if it would be launched on a global basis।

Speakers at the seminar said information security and its management were critical issues not only to business and the industry but also to the society at large. Cyber crimes, it is also believed, threaten the core infrastructure that supports critical business activities।

Dr। Debesh Das, West Bengal’s Minister for Information Technology, stressed upon the importance of information security and its varied implications. He said the day was not far when there would be security agencies to protect our IT infrastructure just as we have security agencies to guard our homes, offices and vital installations. Academic institutions should incorporate courses on IT security in their curriculum, he said.

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Vikram Tiwathia, Chief Information Officer of CII, said, as hardware costs go down, the industry needs to address the issue of software costs appropriately।

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