# Apple business licensing is making me schizo



## Hannah Solo (Jun 9, 2012)

I'm in IT at a company that is all on Windows 7 except for about sixteen Intel iMac's in our internal publishing department, my Macbook Air, an Xserve for the publishing department and about a dozen ancient iMac G5's scattered around and used as courtesy machines in public areas. 

As I am about to replace the oldest of the publishing departments iMac's it seems like a good time to standardize on Lion as the new machines will automatically come with Lion and this is where I am losing my mind.

First of all, Apple's intensely generous personal use Lion licensing terms don't apply to businesses. The App Store is out of the picture except as a source of the install image.

Since I will only need eleven licenses of Lion to upgrade the balance of the machines that is not enough for Apple's volume licensing threshold of twenty. In the US Apple Store for Business you can buy individual Lion licenses: 

OS X Lion - Apple Store for Business (U.S.) 

You stick your stack of licenses in the filing cabinet incase the BSA kicks down your door and go on your merry way. 

There is no Canadian Apple Store for Business. I am banging my head against the wall because when I try to call Apple I end up talking to somebody in the US who talks to me like I am retarded until they can't process the order themselves. At which point I sit on hold until I get another person who talks to me like I am retarded and have never heard of the App Store. The only lucid solution suggested by Apple was to gift Lion to the individual users iTunes accounts - but that would never get past accounting and Lion would then be licensed to them individually rather than to the company. 

Has anyone here successfully obtained these licenses?

I am not sure how I deal with this without buying the worlds most expensive 4GB USB sticks or buying a bunch of redundant licenses, either of which will make me look like a bimbo and give more ammo to the rest of the IT slobs who seem bothered by the fact the macs are even in the building and latch on to any shortcoming to make their case.

And for the record obtaining licenses for Microsoft Office, Quark, Acrobat, Sophos, and FileMaker in these quantities through conventional volume licensing programs has never presented a problem.


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

I'm in the same boat with many of my clients. We've been sidestepping the issue by downgrading users to Snow Leopard where possible, but that's obviously not sustainable.

Our sales rep has been trying to find a way to properly license it (and other software, like iWork), but it's a PITA.


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## broad (Jun 2, 2009)

Epic rant. Welcome to the board.


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## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

Good Grief Apple!!! What a stupid, awkward, time consuming hassle for any Canadian "commercial" type business!! And the US multi license store option doesn't work in Canada it seems. Really DUMB!!! 

I'd try calling Apple Canada Customer Service *again* and with any small amount of luck, you may actually end up talking to someone in Canada that knows what in h'll one is supposed to do. And besides, I'm sure your accounting dept. will want some proper documentation and receipts etc.

As I see it now, your only method is to setup your "company name" with maybe using a new 'admin' user on each Mac and set each up for an Apple ID with a separate password on each of the 11 Macs.

Or purchase 10 licenses and one USB Flash Installer drive, or make your own, and then on each SL Mac, just pay for the Lion and bypass the long download if needed, and use the bought or created USB flash (or hard drive) to use as an installer??

Quite a bizarre Apple Canada commercial licensing hassle I must say!! BIG understatement!! 


Or just leave the older Macs running SL 10.6.8!!


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## Trevor... (Feb 21, 2003)

I didn't even have to read past the subject line to know what this would be about... and for the record it isn't as though this is a US only issue, it truly seems to be everywhere on earth except Canada!

OS X Lion - Apple Store pro firmy (?eská republica)
OS X Lion - Apple Store ????????
OS X Lion - Apple Store para empresas (México)

I didn't really press the issue, but I know others who did were eventually told just to use their App store download and square up if/when Apple sorts this mess out.


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## Ottawaman (Jan 16, 2005)

Hi,
Contact this guy....

I think he can assist you with ordering the individual licenses. He represents the Canadian Apple Store for Business. 



Minh Pham
Account Manager, Canada
Apple Store for Business
916-399-7884 or 800-854-3680 x32796 | (fax) 866-758-7713
[email protected]


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