G
Guest
I have a question about using Excel as part of an intranet application.
Specifically, my question is about the licensing implications of using Excel
in this way. (BTW this all applies to Excel 2003).
I have an intranet web application that allows people to submit their
timesheets. The web application puts the timesheet information in a
database.
I would like people to be able to submit the timesheets as Excel files. In
order to get the data out of the Excel files, I need to run Excel on the
server. I can accept the files through the web application and process them
asynchronously thereafter so I can avoid the (technical) problems associated
with having more than one instance of Excel running, etc.
[Note: there may be other ways of achieving the same result, but I'm really
interested more clarifying the licensing situation with this scenario.]
I will only ever have one instance of Excel running on the server, and it
will only ever be used for this purpose. All of the people using the
intranet web application already have Office 2003 on their desktops (which
of course is necessary so that they can create the Excel files in the first
place).
Here's the question: how should I license the copy of Excel on the server?
There's a Microsoft tech note at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/257757 that
describes the problems you may encounter running Excel on a server, and
gives advice on how to work around them. In the middle of that tech note, it
also mentions (almost as an aside):
"Besides the technical problems, you must also consider the feasibility of
such a design with respect to licensing. Current licensing guidelines
prevent Office Applications from being used on a server to service client
requests, unless those clients themselves have licensed copies of Office.
Using server-side Automation to provide Office functionality to unlicensed
workstations is not covered by the End User License Agreement (EULA)."
However, it does not define exactly what kind of licenses the "client
workstations" need, and nor does it say what kind of license is required for
the copy of Office on the server. Does the fact that Office is already
installed and licensed on all the user's desktops count?
The Office 2003 EULA talks about using Office on a server from a remote
machine, but it seems to deal mainly with the case where someone is actually
using the Office product as a desktop tool (e.g. using Terminal Services to
use Excel as though it was on their desktop). I doubt that the intention was
to prohibit the kind of use I have in mind. Here's what the EULA says:
"1.1 Installation and use. You may:
(a) install and use a copy of the Software on one personal computer or other
device; and
(b) install an additional copy of the Software on a second, portable device
for the exclusive use of the primary
user of the first copy of the Software.
1.2 Alternative Rights for Storage/Network Use. As an alternative to Section
1.1(a), you may install a copy of the
Software on a network storage device, such as a server computer, and allow
one access device, such as a personal
computer, to access and use that licensed copy of the Software over a
private network. You must obtain a license to the
Software for each additional device that accesses and uses the Software
installed on the network storage device, except
as permitted by Section 1.4 of this EULA."
So 1.2 seems to imply that I need "a license to use the software for each
additional device", which backs up what the tech note says. But again, it's
not explicit about whether "additional devices" with an existing licensed
version of Office qualify or not. (And as I say, I'm not even 100% sure that
this restriction would apply when the "additional devices" are not "using"
Office in the normal sense).
Can anyone clarify the situation?
Specifically, my question is about the licensing implications of using Excel
in this way. (BTW this all applies to Excel 2003).
I have an intranet web application that allows people to submit their
timesheets. The web application puts the timesheet information in a
database.
I would like people to be able to submit the timesheets as Excel files. In
order to get the data out of the Excel files, I need to run Excel on the
server. I can accept the files through the web application and process them
asynchronously thereafter so I can avoid the (technical) problems associated
with having more than one instance of Excel running, etc.
[Note: there may be other ways of achieving the same result, but I'm really
interested more clarifying the licensing situation with this scenario.]
I will only ever have one instance of Excel running on the server, and it
will only ever be used for this purpose. All of the people using the
intranet web application already have Office 2003 on their desktops (which
of course is necessary so that they can create the Excel files in the first
place).
Here's the question: how should I license the copy of Excel on the server?
There's a Microsoft tech note at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/257757 that
describes the problems you may encounter running Excel on a server, and
gives advice on how to work around them. In the middle of that tech note, it
also mentions (almost as an aside):
"Besides the technical problems, you must also consider the feasibility of
such a design with respect to licensing. Current licensing guidelines
prevent Office Applications from being used on a server to service client
requests, unless those clients themselves have licensed copies of Office.
Using server-side Automation to provide Office functionality to unlicensed
workstations is not covered by the End User License Agreement (EULA)."
However, it does not define exactly what kind of licenses the "client
workstations" need, and nor does it say what kind of license is required for
the copy of Office on the server. Does the fact that Office is already
installed and licensed on all the user's desktops count?
The Office 2003 EULA talks about using Office on a server from a remote
machine, but it seems to deal mainly with the case where someone is actually
using the Office product as a desktop tool (e.g. using Terminal Services to
use Excel as though it was on their desktop). I doubt that the intention was
to prohibit the kind of use I have in mind. Here's what the EULA says:
"1.1 Installation and use. You may:
(a) install and use a copy of the Software on one personal computer or other
device; and
(b) install an additional copy of the Software on a second, portable device
for the exclusive use of the primary
user of the first copy of the Software.
1.2 Alternative Rights for Storage/Network Use. As an alternative to Section
1.1(a), you may install a copy of the
Software on a network storage device, such as a server computer, and allow
one access device, such as a personal
computer, to access and use that licensed copy of the Software over a
private network. You must obtain a license to the
Software for each additional device that accesses and uses the Software
installed on the network storage device, except
as permitted by Section 1.4 of this EULA."
So 1.2 seems to imply that I need "a license to use the software for each
additional device", which backs up what the tech note says. But again, it's
not explicit about whether "additional devices" with an existing licensed
version of Office qualify or not. (And as I say, I'm not even 100% sure that
this restriction would apply when the "additional devices" are not "using"
Office in the normal sense).
Can anyone clarify the situation?