County Facing Additional $50,000 In Software Updates

By Gordon HopkinsKeeping necessary software updated will now cost Jefferson County an additional $50,000 a year.The dearth of practical alternatives coupled with the need for compatibility with larger government systems means that local governments have no real options other than to accept whatever terms Microsoft sets. Even if those terms cost an additional $50,000 a year. Brad Eisenhauer, Jefferson County IT (Information Technology) explained why the cost to use Microsoft tools in going up at a meeting of county commissioners on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.“So, currently, the two big items we have that are now end of life for Microsoft is our Office package, which is Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, all of those. Also, we have the Microsoft Exchange email server,” said Eisenhauer. “Microsoft has forced everyone to go to a subscription model. So, gone are the days of being able to pay for it once use it for however many years till it’s obsolete, then you have to buy it all over again.” The county is being forced to upgrade because products, such as Windows 10, are no longer supported.“They all expire at the same time,” said Eisenhauer. “Microsoft, they, kind of have you. I mean, unfortunately, there’s no alternative. And that’s what old Bill Gates (co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft) did decades ago. He managed to position himself where everybody relies on Microsoft for our office, for everything.”“Planned obsolescence,” said commissioner Mark Schoenrock.“Welcome to my life,” said Eisenhauer. “IT has a shorter shelf life than about anything.” Jefferson County also has special security requirements because it is a government entity. Eisenhauer said, “It narrows down kind of what we’re allowed to use. So, that’s what this G3 license is. That is the government license. The biggest difference between the government licensing and the enterprise licensing is the security. Where some of this is cloud based, some of it’s hosted. The government version of it is all hosted in the US, and all their employees are US citizens based in the US. They’re all vetted. They’ve had background checks all of all of that.”The products will need to be replaced by October of this year. The county has 115 computers. The license for the Microsoft 360 package will be $432 per unit, for a total cost of $49,680. That license lasts for one year. There is also a one-time fee of $15,000 for installation of the new programs. That makes the total cost to the county this year of $64,680 and beginning next year $49,680 annually. Schoenrock said, “So, we’re going to be spending almost $50,000 a year for our Microsoft license for the county.”Eisenhauer emphasized there are trade-offs with the subscription model, “It stinks that we have to spend that money every year, but now we no longer have to worry about end of life. Paying that subscription, we always have the latest version.”

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