Microsoft is slashing the price of some server operating systems and it has stopped short of a full price increase on others to avoid giving customers a so-called "cash-ectomy".

Service providers running Windows Server 2008 R2 Web, Standard, and Enterprise editions will see their license agreements cut by 21 per cent from January 1, 2011.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Edition is going up by 30 per cent, but the server was being offered under an introductory price. Microsoft said it has decided against nearly doubling that introductory price, so 30 per cent is considered a cut.

Also, Microsoft said it had twice deferred the decision to end the introductory price on Datacenter Edition.

Microsoft was clear: This only applies to service provider license agreements (SPLAs) and does not affect other volume purchase agreements. You can see current estimated retail prices for the Windows Server 2008 R2 editions here.

The company seems keen to distance itself from the likes of Oracle, which is famed for charging hard and offering discounts to customers willing to haggle.

Microsoft blogged here that its prices reflect what it charges.

"Far too many software companies take what I call a 'cash-ectomy' approach to selling. Loosely defined, a 'cash-ectomy' is the removal of as much cash as possible from a customer regardless of the volume of the sale. That approach rarely works for very long as customers compare notes and quickly realize that the price they paid was far more correlated to their budget than it was to their volume:" ®