Resellers not happy with Microsoft's product strategy

Microsoft seems to have resorted to the strategy of killing its own product

in order to push the newest one, for it appears to have stopped shipping the

Windows NT server platform and the client server and also several other server

software packages such as the MS Exchange Server ver 7 and 5.5 and SQL Server

ver 7.

The Delhi IT market appears to be in a quandary with these policies of

Microsoft, with the dealers in a way being forced to buy the newer version

rather than the established older versions.

Further, the versions of SQL Server 2000 and Exchange Server 2000 do not work

on Windows NT platform, thus leading the end users to upgrade the platform to

Windows 2000. This would lead the end users as well as dealers to order the 2000

version of Windows, which are obviously at a higher cost. For example the SQL

Server ver 5--10 user licence--was priced at Rs 50,000 and the SQL Server

2000--5 user licence--costs Rs 65,000, thus leading to a loss of almost Rs

25,000 to Rs 30,000 per order placed. "Microsoft is trying to kill its own

product and it is absolutely unfortunate that in this manner, the company is

trying to monopolize the market," said Alok Gupta, CEO, Softmart Solutions,

who is the leading software reseller in Delhi.

Vikram Gupta, Director, Leading Edge Technologies, agreed with Alok Gupta

that the market is facing a problem with the non availability of the NT servers

and the higher prices of the newer versions. Even while agreeing that the

dealers are facing problem with the disparity in the prices, Vikram Gupta said

that Leading Edge is committed to Microsoft and the new strategy that it adopts.

He is of the view that the huge market share that Microsoft enjoys makes them

confident to adopt these strategies.

According to Nitin Dang, Territory Manager, Trifin Technologies Ltd, there

are certain customers and institutions, which still insist on NT categories. He

informed that the company was not able to deliver the NT servers as there is a

shortage of them in the market. "Even while it being a strange strategy,

Microsoft has always been adopting this. They have been disinvesting in the

older versions in order to push the new versions." He added that the

upgradation of the NT platforms to the newer versions will not be a problem from

the legal point of view as they have the license, But the new strategy leaves

the end user with little choice as to which platform to resort to as they are

forced to upgrade the system to the newest versions and buy the new software,

opined he. "It is really a matter of not having the choice and the manner

in which Microsoft dictates the product usage that is irritating," said

Dang.

But some dealers and distributors chose to comply with the strategy of

Microsoft. Anil Sethi, Deputy Manager (Sales and Channels), Tech Pacific India

Ltd, had no issues with regard to the new strategy adopted by Microsoft. He said

that the movement of the older versions to the new versions has been smooth and

added that it might be the resellers who would be facing any problem in this

regard.

According to Vipul Dutta, Director (Operations), Futuresoft Technologies Ltd,

there has been nothing abnormal about the new policy adopted by Microsoft. He

said that solution providers like Futuresoft have the license to procure the

older versions and provide the new solutions to the users. He explained that it

might be at the traders' level that they might be facing the problem of

non-availability of the older versions.

Rajesh Jain, Manager (Business Development), Millenium Techno Systems, also

had no complaints against Microsoft and was by and large happy with the policies

of the software company.

Microsoft officials, on the other hand, denied that they have stopped

shipping the earlier versions, but agreed that they are pushing the new software

as a part of the marketing strategy.