In his recent piece about how Microsoft should be afraid of open source, our own Matt Asay stumbles on a solution to the problem.
He offers this nifty Forrester chart (right) showing how software revenues have changed in the last few years, from licenses to maintenance, with services declining as well.
There are good reasons for this. Open source is one. The need for continual updates on, say, anti-viral programs is another.
All of which leads to my cunning plan.
Stop selling Microsoft software. Rent it.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=1369