Author Archives: licensingschool

Product and SA Changes in the April 2014 Product List

There are some interesting product changes to the April 2014 Product List; it’s not often we see changes to the SA benefits – this month there are two – and the importance of the cloud is confirmed with two new Online Services and just one new on-premises product.

Product Changes

  • Firstly, there’s a like for like replacement for SQL 2012 products for their new, shinier SQL 2014 equivalents, representing minimal changes to the licensing between versions. You need to go to the April 2014 PUR to find documentation of the two notable changes in SQL 2014 licensing: BI CALs are waived for batch processing, and the licensing of a passive server is now an SA benefit
  • Microsoft Social Listening SKUs are added – both the standalone Social Listening Professional USL and the Add-on USL for organisations that are already licensed with an on-premises Dynamics CRM Professional CAL – with active SA of course. And if you’re wondering precisely what “social listening” may be, then, in a nutshell, it’s a service to monitor social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. If you want more information on the product, then this datasheet is worth a scan: http://bit.ly/RiG5fZ
  • The USL for OneDrive for Business is also added and gives licensed users access to Office Online too
  • The Windows Industry SKUs follow in the footsteps of their close relative, Windows 8.1, with the Enterprise edition being available as a standalone SKU and SA just allowed to be added to the Enterprise edition. Naturally, there’s a “with MDOP” edition too. There are two flavours of each SKU dependent on which devices the licences are being assigned to, and there’s a table which helps you to decide which one is required as long as you know what operating system the device is currently licensed for

Software Assurance Changes

  • Previously, Office licences purchased through a Volume Licensing program gave access to “Office Web Apps”. This is now changed so that rights to an on-premises deployment through Office Web Apps Server 2013 are included with the licence, and rights to Office Online are only available as an SA benefit. There’s also a note that users must be licensed for SharePoint Online to access the Office Online service
  • Given the ever closer licensing between Windows 8.1 and its first cousin, Windows Industry, the “Enhanced Edition Benefits” is a new benefit for both these products which allows the deployment of either edition under active SA

The New Look April 2014 Product List

So, the Microsoft Product List has had a spring makeover. This post gives you an overview of what’s changed in terms of the information you can expect to find in this, my favourite licensing document.

One of the first things you’ll notice is that a huge 101 pages have been cut: the March 2014 Product List was 188 pages and the April 2014 one weighs in at a slimline 87 pages. Gosh, where’s everything gone? Well, a big change is the removal of most of the program related information (which does make sense since this is a Product List rather than a Program List) but I’ll miss details like what products make up the different platforms across the programs, for instance. Some old friends also disappear: that very long orange table at the beginning of the document is a thing of the past, so there’s no overview of all the products in one place, and the last twelve months’ of changes are also cut.

The products are now separated into on-premises licences and Online Services and then listed alphabetically. While this is undoubtedly convenient, it will take some getting used to having Streets and Trips between SQL Server and System Center! Then, another of the reasons for the reduced number of pages is the way that everything for a product has been extracted from multiple locations around the document and consolidated into one place.

Let’s look at the entry for SharePoint which you’ll see below. All of the SharePoint products have been grouped together into a mini table which shows the availability by program and includes a column for the new MPSA program. There’s more information about the details of how a particular product can be acquired through a particular program denoted by the letters in the cells. There’s a key for these letters, as before, or you can (allegedly) hover over the letter or column heading to get the full details. I have to confess I don’t have the required mouse skills to do this having only made it work once or twice…

There’s a useful set of information under the table which gives details of previous versions and other information pertinent to the product. The table for Office, for instance, confirms that Office Professional Plus qualifies as an Up To Date discount product, and that the Office products are platform independent.

SharePoint 2014 PL

The Microsoft Volume Licensing blog has an article on these changes too, and you might want to peruse that if you just can’t get enough of the Product List. And who could blame you? http://bit.ly/1n6DAau

 

 

Licensing School Licensing Summit

Registration for the UK Licensing School Licensing Summit is open! Come along on June 3rd to enjoy some face to face training on the latest in Microsoft “Mobile First, Cloud First” licensing.

If you’re anxious about Azure or baffled by Bring Your Own Device licensing, then this is a must-attend event for you. Full details – including the Early Bird discount – are here: http://bit.ly/1e77iMF.

 

SQL 2014 Licensing Datasheet

A SQL 2014 Licensing Datasheet is released from Microsoft which confirms that SQL 2014 licensing is broadly as that for SQL 2012 with two changes detailed.

Firstly, licensing of a passive server for fail-over support is now an SA benefit rather than a Licence right.

And secondly, BI edition now allows “batch processing” of data without requiring CALs for the data sources supplying the data. Download the datasheet here: http://bit.ly/PfQkk3.

Windows Embedded Licensing Update

Microsoft announce the alignment of Windows and Windows Industry (Embedded) licensing. Here’s what’s new – organisations licensed with Software Assurance on either flavour of Windows get a new benefit called Enhanced Edition Rights. This, actually quite well named benefit, provides rights to both editions of Windows for maximum deployment flexibility. In addition, Windows Industry customers get additional SA benefits which include VDA, Roaming Use Rights, and the rights to purchase the Companion Subscription Licence.

Read the full post here: http://bit.ly/1dMqM9c.

Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite

The Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite is announced. This includes Azure AD Premium (for hybrid identity management), Intune (for mobile device management) and Azure Rights Management (for information protection).

Key licensing facts:

  • It is licensed Per User
  • It will be available through Enterprise Volume Licensing programs from 1 May 2014
  • Businesses can add EMS to active SA on the Core CAL or Enterprise CAL Suites or the Bridge CAL for Office 365
  • Estimated retail price is $7.50 per month, and
  • It will not be purchased through an Azure Monetary Commitment

These Microsoft sites are useful: http://bit.ly/PcfXBY for pricing and a datasheet, and http://bit.ly/1pwPRqn for a good overview and availability information.

Office for iPad Licensing

Office for iPad – the licensing facts:

  • Free apps allow viewing and presenting of documents and an Office 365 subscription allows creation and editing;
  • Office 365 subscriptions that include Office for iPad – Home, Small Business Premium, Midsize Business, E/G/A3, E/G/A4, Office 365 ProPlus, and Office 365 University;
  • One subscription covers Office for iPad on up to 5 tablets and Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs;
  • Office Mobile for iPhone and Android phones is now free as it is on Windows Phone.

Read the full Office Blog post here: http://bit.ly/1h23WFi.

 

OneDrive for Business Update

OneDrive for Business is one of those products still wriggling to feel comfortable in its own skin. Until recently known as SkyDrive Pro, it can trace its roots back through SharePoint Workspace and, of course, Groove. These days it’s part of every Office 365 Plan and is included with the SharePoint Online plans too. From 1 April 2014 it will also be available as a standalone service and will include access to Office Online and 25GB of storage. There will be some promotional pricing with discounts of up to 50% available until the end of September 2014. Get the full story on the OneDrive Blog: http://bit.ly/1doMJem