As we know, software companies feel perfectly justified in annually charging 15 to 20 percent of a corporate customer's original license costs for maintenance and support. (Unless the software company is Microsoft, of course, in which case they feel justified in charging a lot more for maintenance, and forget about the support.) But customers have to wonder just what it is they are paying for when, on top of the annual maintenance, they are also expected to take out license insurance.

A reader was already looking somewhat askance recently at his annual maintenance and support bill for the Wonderware industrial automation software his company uses when he noticed the following in the boilerplate printed on the invoice:

"Lost or stolen software licenses incur replacement costs of 80% of original purchase price. We suggest that you insure them against theft, loss and damage."

Since he's already paying a hefty chuck of the original purchase price for maintenance every year, should he really have to pay 80 percent if there's an accidental loss? "Seems pretty burdensome, doesn't it?" the reader wrote. "I'm not even sure what percentage of our original cost this charge represents, but it seems especially wrong to put this on an annual bill."

It's doubtful this kind of thing is limited to Wonderware publisher Invensys Systems, but I think we all can and should wonder along with the reader just why the license insurance the company recommends should be necessary. All too many software companies deliver precious little for their steep annual maintenance and support charges, since they usually find a way to require a whole new set of licensing fees for any significant release or even bug fixes. It seems that the least they could do is replace lost, stolen, or damaged licenses without cost for those who already paying for maintenance. After all, when you think about it, maintenance really is supposed to be a form of insurance for the customer. If it's not, what is it?