In software licensing you rarely think of a free wish or what would make you feel like Christmas. The environment of IT and, in particular, of license models and rules is far from wonders, for the most part.

But think of a few drastic changes that are no wonders in other subject areas, like the car business:

• Only pay maintenance for the software you use
• Only start paying maintenance when you use the software productively
• Let the vendor send a fresh vendor price list when a new license product is launched
• Get advance notice from the vendor about policy/model changes, including hints what that means for you
• Sell off unused licenses in a second-hand market
• Shift the burden of proof for software compliance to the vendor
• Let the vendor execute your product update to remove faults and return a tested live system as part of maintenance

It might take years to get there, but Christmas is a time when such wishes can be pronounced, for the least! Until this becomes factual, some of you might drop by License12 to get a first sight of what transparent licensing can look like.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Licensing Year!