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US Army Signs $471,000,000 Deal for Microsoft Software
zero_offset writes "According to this article at Yahoo, Microsoft will provide software for 494,000 Army computers during the next six years. At roughly $950 per computer this clearly involves more than just the OS, although the article unfortunately doesn't provide details, and I was unable to find any references to this on the Microsoft website." The great things about this deal: the Army is going through a reseller, when clearly they have the purchasing power to buy direct; and most of the computers they purchase are normal consumer machines which will be purchased with Windows and Office already installed, so the Army will be paying twice for each machine.
from the same organization that brought us $100 toilet seats and $500 hammers.
-- You can't idiot-proof anything, because they're always coming out with better idiots.
"Spend as much as you can."
Point is, the Army is not out to save money. Buying direct is a no-no. This way, they can as for more money next year.
A friend of mine worked as an Army Core Engineer and he once told me they spend $2000 on a box of hammers.
-----
One is born into aristocracy, but mediocrity can only be achieved through hard work.
Officer: Sarg, launch the damn missile son, nuke their ass....
Sarg: Duuh, do we have to restart after each missile Sir
Officer: You didnt restart the last time??????
Sarg: Duhhh,Naaah sir i didnt...It says abort retry ignore, duuuuh which one Sir....
KABOOOOMMMMMMM.
The lunatic is in my head
next slammer virus stops the US army dead on its way to Tehran.
-- Karma Karma Karma Karma, Karma Chameleon - Boy George
Oh wait, that's already been done.
There is nothing inherently safe about liberty. That's why so many people died protecting it.
i feel i need to clear a few things up for those of you who aren't in the resale industry. first off, the article says nothing about them buying the systems from Softmart. second, since this is a 6 year agreement and it says that Softmart get's a commision, this is not a resale it's an Enterprise Agreement. that kind of contract is handled direct only and Microsoft controls the pricing, but in order to make things fair for LARs (large account resellers) the deal has to be sponcered by a LAR. that reseller get's a kickback commision (like 2%), not a sale. in an Enterprise Agreement, they are agreeing to an accross the board standard to your desktops. if that $900 figure is correct then they got a great deal because that will cover the OS, Office, and all the core CALs for 6 years, including automatic upgrade rights for anything new that comes out (which given the upgrade cycle should be about 4 new versions of each). any normal company would have to pay about 5 times more for this. just try and name a company with a large install base that wouldn't jump at 4 OS's, 4 Office's and 4 of each CAL for $900. this news shows us two things in reality. one is that there is a helluva lot of markup in this product. and second is that the miltary made a good move (or MS a bad one) because they would have bought all this anyway, but at a much higher price over time. by the way, an Enterprise Agreement is not an upfront sale but a yearly payment with true-ups.
FateCreatr, Out.
Slashbot's "News for Nerds. Stuff that matters" is right up there with FoxNews "Fair and Balanced" in terms of irony.
...paying $640 for a toilet seat cover, $435 for a hammer or $7,600 for a coffee maker. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly .asp?ARTICLE_ID=17695