Discounted MCP exam vouchers and free re-takes are available and include the 74-678 exam (http://bit.ly/1CoqiQ0). Team these with our self-study guide to give yourself the best chance of passing: (http://bit.ly/74-678-US-Kindle).
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Changes to Visual Studio Online Licensing
There are further changes to Visual Studio Online licensing with additional rights being moved from the Visual Studio Online Advanced licence to the Basic one. These include user acceptance testing, all project management features, and the Team Rooms feature.
Read the full announcement here: http://bit.ly/1yZQYAE.
CRM Online now available through Open programs
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is available to purchase through Open and Open Value programs beginning 2 February 2015. Read the full announcement here: http://bit.ly/1KFcz8q.
Partner Quotes in GLR
Get Licensing Ready Update: the Partner Quotes module is moved from the MLSS LORG level to a specialist track on its own. Check your licensing knowledge is up to date at https://getlicensingready.com.
December 2015 Updates to Licensing Windows/Office on a Mac VL Brief
The “Licensing Windows and Office for Use on a Mac” Volume Licensing Brief is updated for December 2015 to include Windows SA per User and VDA per User licensing.
There’s a new question added which sums up the changes: “Can a user licensed with Windows Software Assurance per User or Windows VDA per User access Windows Enterprise on or from a Mac?”
The answer – yes, through a VDI environment, or installed locally if the Mac is licensed with Windows 7/8/8.1 Pro. Get the document here: http://bit.ly/Hkv3BM.
Exams 70-671 and 70-672 are no longer available
RIP 70-671 and 70-672. It’s official – these Volume Licensing exams are no longer available as of 31 January 2015. The replacement is the 74-678 exam – “Designing and Providing Microsoft Volume Licensing Solutions to Large Organizations”.
If you want to find out more about this new exam or access some resources to help you to prepare to pass it, then everything you need is right here: http://bit.ly/74-678.
Power BI Licensing
It’s all change for Power BI and its licensing. Changes are announced for a new Power BI which has a new user experience and new features. It’s currently in preview with no confirmation of General Availability yet, and you can read all about what’s new here: http://bit.ly/168mYfa.
Licensing wise, today there’s a Power BI Add-on for E3/E4 and a standalone Power BI licence, and a new Power BI Pro licence will replace both of these options. Pricing will be $9.99 per user/month and there will be a free version too (Power BI) which will, of course, have a lighter set of features. This link has a table of the features: http://bit.ly/1tPRiGA.
In the interim, pricing is reduced for the two existing plans from 9th February 2015 with the Add-on down from $20 to $9.99 and the standalone plan down from $40 to $17.99, all detailed on this page: http://bit.ly/1yZGotv.
And what about existing customers? From a features perspective, all customers will transition to the new user experience as soon as it’s available. In terms of the licensing, customers who licensed Power BI through MOSP will apparently receive a message through their admin console explaining how their account will be impacted with the lower price. For EA customers, they will transition to the new SKU and new price at anniversary. These details are all at this page: http://bit.ly/16fXTQh.
Windows 10 Free Upgrades
It’s confirmed that Windows 7/8/8.1 Enterprise editions won’t be included in the free upgrade to Windows 10 that’s been announced for consumer editions unless, of course, customers have Software Assurance.
This is a nice article on the business future of Windows 10 (http://bit.ly/1vnZHlC) and the small print at the bottom of this page confirms that Windows RT/RT 8.1 won’t be included in the free upgrade either: http://bit.ly/1tPtmmK.
Authorised Mobility Partners
Customers with Software Assurance on their server licences can opt to deploy server workloads to a third party’s shared hardware through the Licence Mobility through Software Assurance benefit. These third parties have a special name – Authorised Mobility Partners – and there’s an official list of them which you can find here, updated for January 2015: http://bit.ly/1fXtA1m. If you’re interested, the document now runs to 60 pages (with about 35 partners per page) – up from 49 pages last year.
Pre-Order Price for 74-678 Exam Prep Guide
The manufacturer’s proof for the print version of our 74-678 Exam Preparation Guide has been signed off! There’s a special introductory price of £15 + P&P available for all orders placed before Sunday 15th February 2015. Delivery dates will be from 6th February 2015. Get your copy here: http://licensingschool.co.uk/shop.