Office 365 and CRM Online – Australia

Microsoft announce that Office 365 and CRM Online are now available from Australian datacentres. Office 365 is also the first cloud productivity service to provide IRAP assurance in Australia – the Australian Government’s Independent Registered Assessors Program (IRAP) for Unclassified Sensitive government data.

Read the announcement here: http://bit.ly/1Dr23Ub.

Visual Studio 2015

Microsoft announce the new line-up for Visual Studio 2015. These are the headlines:

  • Premium and Ultimate editions are replaced with a single, new Enterprise edition
  • Existing Premium and Ultimate with MSDN customers will get a free upgrade to Enterprise
  • The price of Enterprise will be less than today’s Ultimate pricing
  • VL customers will be able to upgrade from Professional to Premium between 1 May and 30 June and then be eligible for Enterprise edition;
  • Release time is summer 2015.

The announcement is here – http://bit.ly/1I6SBXf – and pricing/upgrade information is here – http://bit.ly/1G6vSdl.

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.

Dynamics GP 2015 Licensing Guide

If you need a good introduction to the slightly surreal world of Dynamics GP 2015 licensing then this December 2014 guide is worth a read.

If you’re new to it all, hold on to your hats as you learn about licensing Solution Functionality with the Starter or Extended Packs, and licensing user access with Concurrent CALs, User CALs or User SALs.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, then head over to our Licensing Guides repository where you’ll find a guide for all Microsoft products – past and present –  https://bit.ly/MSlicensingguides.

Citrix Implementation Guide for Office 365

A useful Implementation Guide from Citrix for Office 365 with XenApp and XenDesktop detailing some best practices as well as a licensing section covering Shared Computer Activation.

Get the guide here: http://bit.ly/1a2dULE.

Updated VLSC User Guide

There’s an updated (February 2015) VLSC User Guide.

There are two main changes: it’s updated with the process for Open customers to activate their Online Services through VLSC (see page 41) and the License Summary section is updated with the expanded Search facilities (see page 22). Get the guide here: http://bit.ly/1GiVbrc.

Great news for our 74-678 Exam Prep book

WP_20150320_13_21_03_Pro

We’re extraordinarily proud to announce that our 74-678 Exam Prep book is now available in the main library in Microsoft Campus, Redmond.

Skype for Business is on its way

This excellent Microsoft article gives a good heads-up on what we can expect from Skype for Business when it starts rolling out in April.

It is, of course, the next version of Lync and there will be a client, a server, and an Office 365 service which will include enterprise voice. There will also be support for a range of devices optimised for Skype for Business known as Skype Room Systems devices. Read the full article here (http://bit.ly/1BWBtjj) and watch this space for details on the licensing changes when they’re announced…

Overview of the Changes to the March 2015 Volume Licensing Product List

Short and sweet, here are the changes to the March 2015 Product List…

From SA USLs

  • There’s a new exception added for customers who have more users than devices and want to transition from device licences to Online Services via From SA USLs. Typically they can only purchase From SA USLs up to the number of qualifying underlying licences, but this new one-time exception allows the customer to purchase more From SA USLs – as long as they purchase a From SA USL for all users of all licensed Qualified Devices. See pages 34, 45, 47 and 58
  • It’s also confirmed on the same pages that customers transitioning to EMS, Office 365 or ECS From SA USL qualify for SA Benefits based on the qualifying products being transitioned

Additional products available in Open and Open Value

  • The Enterprise Mobility Suite makes its debut in the Open and Open Value programs and customers will be able to acquire both the Full USL and the Add-on through these programs as per page 44
  • EMS includes Azure Active Directory and this product will also be available as a standalone SKU – both in the Basic and Premium flavours as shown on page 46

Farewell to Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2

  • FIM is removed from the Product List – it was announced back in November 2014 that Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) would replace FIM in the first part of 2015

Windows SA per User Add-on

  • It’s confirmed on page 30 that Windows SA per User Add-ons are eligible for reduction at Anniversary

Cross Program Renewal

  • And finally, on page 64, it’s confirmed that the MPSA is eligible for the cross program renewal of SA and follows the same rules as Select Plus