A new pricing method for the forthcoming Windows 2000 operating system could prove costly to some e-commerce businesses. Microsoft in a letter to its largest customers detailed the pricing scheme for the next Windows operating system for business-use PCs and server computers, setting the software's retail value in line with current products. Microsoft requires companies to pay for a license for each employee relying on Windows for services like network file storage or printing, but has not charged for Internet or Intranet access.
Pricing grows more expensive and more complex as deployment grows in size and sophistication.
Windows 2000 will be sold in three different versions, for use ranging from desktop systems to sophisticated networks. Under the Windows NT 4 licensing program, Microsoft required a CAL for every user accessing a Windows NT server for filing and printing services, but not for Web surfers inside the corporate network or those coming in from the outside. As a result, customers planning to move e-commerce applications from Windows NT to Windows 2000 could face a price increase. The cost of each CAL varies depending on volume discounts and other factors. The Internet Connector is intended only for external access over the Web and not for access across a corporate network or Intranet, the company said.