There’s a change to the Home Use Program rights: previously you could install HUP software on up to 2 devices (2 PCs or 2 Macs), now the October 2015 Product Terms document confirms that it’s only one device – see page 75.
Customers will be able to install Office 2016 beginning on 7th October 2015 – see question 4 on this site: http://bit.ly/1OQrDXg.
The Office Multi Language Pack is no longer an SA benefit: it’s confirmed on page 6 of the October 2015 Product Terms document that from 1st October 2015 customers licensed for the 2016 versions of the Office System products will have the Language Packs included with the licences.
There’s a jolly useful article published by Microsoft on the different servicing options for Windows 10. If you still haven’t got to grips with Current Branch, Current Branch for Business, and Long Term Servicing Branch then this article is worth a read: http://bit.ly/1OcDI7B.
There’s confirmation that Feature Upgrades will be published 2 or 3 times a year, and Service Updates (security fixes) will continue to be published monthly on Update (Patch) Tuesday. It’s also worth noting that all new releases, of either type, are cumulative so that installing them brings a device completely up to date.
Microsoft announce Exchange Server 2016 and are describing this release as “forged in the cloud” – in other words, the features that are already in Exchange Online have now arrived in the on-premises product.
Exchange Server 2016 is also added to the October 2015 Product Terms document and there are no changes to the licensing.
Read the announcement article for an overview of the new features here: http://bit.ly/1Gn43tl.
Today (1st October) the two English portals in GLR, UK English and US English, have been consolidated into one new English portal.
All exam passes in both languages have been transferred to the new portal, and you’ll find that your GLR experience is otherwise unchanged. End of an era for us UK-Englishers!
Take your exams (in English or one of the many other languages) here: https://getlicensingready.com.
Microsoft announce availability of Project 2016 (30 Sept 2015).
What exactly is “Project 2016” though? Well, this Microsoft article (http://bit.ly/1WA5wFN) explains that there are updates to Project Professional (the traditional device-licensed client), Project Pro for Office 365 (its user-licensed counterpart) and Project Online (the hosted Enterprise Project Management solution), but that we’ll have to wait for equivalent features for on-premises EPM with the launch of Project Server 2016 in the spring of 2016.
The article is worth a look to get an idea of the sort of features being added.
Office Web Apps Server was launched in 2012 to provide browser-based versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote running on a standalone on-premises server. The Web Apps later changed their name to Office Online and now the server follows suit – Office Online Server (OOS) is now in preview as the successor to Office Web Apps Server, but there’s no word yet on whether the licensing changes.
Find the announcement here: http://bit.ly/1YKdwpX.
The Office 365 Import Service is in preview. Essentially, this service is used to move PST files to Office 365 mailboxes and/or to import data files to SharePoint Online. Customers use the preparation tool to get their content ready and then can choose to upload data over the network or, for large amounts of data, to copy it to hard drives and ship them to Microsoft.
The service is free at the moment but will turn into a chargeable Office 365 service later. See the announcement here: http://bit.ly/1LXn0EH or this TechNet article for more details: http://bit.ly/1MUooOi.
The MPSA Licensing Manual is updated for some of the key changes that have happened recently.
This August 2015 document includes text on page 4 that confirms that there are no minimums when purchasing Azure consumption services through the MPSA, and there’s an extremely useful paragraph at the top of page 6 that details how the new multi-year duration options work.
Essentially, certain Online Services are available to order up to the second or third Purchasing Account Anniversary and subsequent orders of the same service need to align to the original multi-year order, but are eligible for best price protection too.
Get the document here: http://bit.ly/1QfuR3U.
If you want to share Office applications from the cloud then there’s a good article from Microsoft that explains how you need to license this scenario.
Essentially you need an Office 365 ProPlus subscription and an Azure RemoteApp USL – note that a traditional Office Professional Plus 2016 licence isn’t an option.
The article also covers notions such as shared computer activation, Visio and Project, and an overview of how you get started with Office 365 and Azure RemoteApp. It’s definitely worth a read – find it here: http://bit.ly/1MpF6lB.