Microsoft Band Licensing

APRIL FOOLS POST 2015.

The Microsoft Band was launched to consumers in the US towards the end of last year and in a couple of weeks it will be available in more countries worldwide. Perhaps more interestingly, it’s at this time that businesses will also be able to purchase Bands through their Volume Licensing agreements, making it the first device to be broadly available through all Volume Licensing agreements. So, how on earth do you license a Microsoft Band? Let’s take a look.

There are, as you’d expect, discounts for volume purchases and while there’s no enterprise-wide commitment required in the EA or Open Value agreements, there ARE further discounts available if you do take the Band across the whole organisation. Customers wanting to protect against upgrades to the Band – this is v1 after all – can purchase Hardware Assurance (HA), and in the Open and MPSA programs this is also available in six-monthly payments known as Half Annual Hardware Assurance (HAHA).

Businesses will also be able to deploy sophisticated and customisable dashboards using Microsoft Band Server to keep track of employees’ fitness and even link it to medical benefits. Microsoft Band Server relies on SQL Server and SharePoint Server for its infrastructure but organisations won’t have to license these products as long as all Bands are licensed with a new type of licence – the Wearable Management Licence.

All in all, it’s an exciting time in the world of licensing! If you want to learn more about the scope of Microsoft Band solutions then this is a good site: http://bit.ly/AprilFool2015.