This month the major changes are with Azure Services and Software Assurance but there are a couple of smaller changes regarding Online Services too.

Microsoft Azure Services

• There are two main ways of purchasing Azure Services – either by paying for consumption of a service which is generally paid upfront by a Monetary Commitment, or by purchasing a USL for a service. It’s been hard to work out which type of service is which in the Product List but there’s a new indicator which makes things much easier. If something is denoted as a “Plan” then it’s a separate licence rather than being paid for via the Monetary Commitment, and an example of this is the Enterprise Mobility Suite USL (page 45)
• In addition, there are some services where you can’t use the Monetary Commitment for the initial order but you can use it if there is any overage of that service. Services that are eligible for this include the “MC Overage: Yes” tag and you’ll find it next to Microsoft Azure Backup for example (page 45)

Software Assurance

• CustomerSource is confirmed as an SA benefit for Dynamics customers with either active SA or an Online Subscription. It gives rights to a secure site that allows customers to access productivity tools including unlimited training courses and self-support resources like the knowledge base (page 76)
• There’s a slight change to the Home Use Program rights too: previously the wording stipulated that the software could be installed on one home computer and one portable device, now it’s on up to two devices which can be either 2 PCs or 2 Macs, depending on what’s been purchased (page 69)
• There are some changes to the terms associated with System Center Global Service Monitor. Most interesting, perhaps, is confirmation that test result data is stored in the online service until a customer’s deployment of System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager collects the test results, and if they are not collected within seven days, they are deleted from the online service (page 75)
• There are updates for MPSA generally through the SA section with frequent reminders that you should refer to the MPSA Licensing Manual for specific details on SA through MPSA. There’s also text added confirming that Step Up licences are not available through MPSA (page 76) and that MPSA customers should download E-Learning files from MVLC (page 69)

Online Services

• There’s a note added on page 58 that SharePoint Online Plan 1 or 2 with Yammer subscriptions licensed through Open, Open Value, or Open Value Subscription agreements may be redeemed until 31 October, 2015 after which unredeemed subscriptions may be used for a product inclusive of those services
• And finally, the change of name from “Windows Intune” to “Microsoft Intune” is effected throughout the Product List