Monday, Microsoft’s head of channel sales announced he is leaving – and leaving the company. Rodney Clark was named Channel Chief in March 2021, and the company has indicated it plans to have a new Chief in place by the start of its fiscal year, July 1.
And while on Microsoft, the company announced changes to its licensing policies in Europe. Quoting Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet:
Microsoft outlined five “European Cloud Principles.” The real meat, though, is in the planned changes aimed at leveling the playing field for European Cloud Providers when it comes to running Microsoft on-premises software, like Windows, Windows Server, SQL Server, and Office, on their own infrastructure.
The blog said Microsoft will provide European cloud providers with assistance in enabling Microsoft on-premises software to run on their cloud infrastructure. This expansion of terms will cover Windows, Office, and Microsoft 365 apps for business and enterprise. Microsoft also will make it “easier than ever” to license Windows Server for virtual environments by relaxing the licensing rules “that reflected legacy software licensing practices, where licenses are tied to physical hardware.
I only the channel chief change due to the wider nature of the coverage. That speaks to Microsoft’s power in the market.
And now, Europe’s legislative power too. How does it feel, American companies, to know your European counterparts get better terms because of the regulations there?
That’s why we care about regulation in the US. And European listeners are interested in the new terms they get.