Yammer Licensing Update

Yammer licensing update on Office 365 blog. Two main bits of news:

  1. Yammer Enterprise is now included in ALL Office 365 Enterprise plans (E1, E3 and E4) rather than just those acquired through an EA, and
  2. External Users invited to Yammer via external network functionality no longer need User SLs.

Read the whole article here: http://bit.ly/19HMDdh.

Visual Studio 2013 and MSDN Licensing Guide

Visual Studio 2013 and MSDN Licensing Guide from Microsoft. There are minimal changes to the licensing with the most notable amendments being the server features that require more than a CAL – there’s a list of these new features and changes from Visual Studio 2012 on page 26.

Download the guide here: http://bit.ly/1hkf7gn

Overview of the Changes to the November 2013 Volume Licensing Product List

This month it’s the new Server and Cloud Enrolment (SCE) that’s firmly in the spotlight. As a reminder, this new enrolment replaces the Enrolment for Application Platform (EAP) and Enrolment for Core Infrastructure (ECI) and is aimed at customers who are happy to commit to Software Assurance across their estate on products such as SQL Server or the Core Infrastructure Server (CIS) Suites which license Windows Server and System Center.

  • Products Available: There’s a new SCE column added to those very useful tables at the beginning of the document – you know, the ones that tell you what products are available through which programs etc. In this sparkly new SCE column you’ll find details of the SCE products that require enterprise-wide commitment marked with “STP” (Server and Tools Product) or “C” (core infrastructure product), and available additional products marked as “A”
  • Minimum Requirements: There’s a useful section added to page 43 which shows the minimum initial order requirements for SCE. Previously, this sort of information has only been available in the Enrolment documentation so it’s good to have it more accessible here
  • Subscription Licence Minimums: There are new subscription licences available through SCE, and page 49 confirms the exact set of licences that are eligible for reduction at anniversary after an initial 12 month term
  • Program Benefits: Section 7 of the document on page 63 adds “Program Benefits” to its title and this is where you’ll find details of the SCE benefit that allows you to use System Center to manage up to 10 VOSE instances within Windows Azure for each Core Infrastructure Server Suite licence enrolled in the SCE
  • Renewing EAP Customers: There’s confirmation on page 61 that EAP customers who previously deferred buying licences by buying the SAPriorL SKUs must buyout their licences before they can renew SA
  • Promotions: There are some interesting promotions associated with SCE too. On page 38 you’ll find details of the “Windows Azure Adoption Acceleration” promotion which offers additional monetary commitment credit to customers who are prepared to commit to an upfront monetary commitment, with three bands starting at a commitment of $50K. And also on this page is the “FY14 Jumpstart Server & Cloud Enrolment” which offers a 15% discount on Core Infrastructure Server Datacenter Suite L&SA and SA. Both of these promotions run from 1 November 2013 to 30 June 2014

In other mainstream product news this month:

  • Windows Server and System Center are perhaps more interesting for noting what’s been taken out. As you’d expect, all the references to the product names have been “R2-ified” but the raft of information that’s been available showing all the SA upgrade path information for both products has been removed and now just refers you back to the October 2013 Product List
  • There’s some useful information for Windows too:
    • Again, the version has changed throughout to 8.1, and on page 120 there’s confirmation that VL customers with expired SA on Windows 8 Pro may move to Windows 8.1 Pro, but not Windows 8.1 Enterprise
    • Page 120 informs us that Windows Enterprise Sideloading licences for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 may be used interchangeably, so devices licensed for Windows 8 Enterprise Sideloading that have been upgraded to Windows 8.1 don’t need to be separately re-licensed
    • There’s some expanded information on Sideloading with Windows Embedded on page 116, and details of how customers can enrol in Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Pro Software Assurance on page 118
  • The rules for acquiring Windows Azure Services have changed – the detail is on page 57 onwards but I’ll explain it all in a separate blog post very soon!

And, finally, those very niche bits and pieces that have changed – let me know if YOU’RE the person who was glad to know the following:

  • The number of licensed desktops for eligibility to participate in the Enterprise Source Licensing Program has increased from 1,500 to 10,000
  • Details of the Enterprise Strategy Program Offerings have been reworked and clarified

Licensing Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials

Useful Microsoft blog article on changes to Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials licensing. There’s a reminder that virtualisation licensing rights have been expanded so you can now install Essentials on the physical server AND in a virtual machine, but more interestingly there’s news of the Windows Server Essentials Experience role that’s been added to Standard and Datacenter editions.

Customers can now turn on this role rather than exercising their downgrade rights to install Essentials BUT the licensing remains the same as for the edition purchased – in other words, you’ll still need Windows Server CALs, and RDS CALs if you’re using the Remote Web Access feature. http://bit.ly/1aado63

New Volume Licensing Briefs for October and November 2013

October 2013

Licensing Windows Embedded 8

Downgrade Rights for Microsoft Volume Licensing, OEM, and FPP Licences

  • Updated for Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Office 2013 products
  • Previous brief: September 2012
  •  http://bit.ly/17o1yEf

Microsoft Licensing for the Consumerization of IT

Microsoft Licensing for the Consumerization of IT – Academic Licensing Scenarios

November 2013

Licensing Windows Intune

  • Updated for the December 2012 update of Windows Intune and the November 2013 update of Windows 8.1
  • Previous brief: December 2012
  •  http://bit.ly/17mQhUo

Licensing Office 365 ProPlus Subscription Service in Volume Licensing

Licensing Windows and Microsoft Office for use on a Mac

What are “Qualified Devices”?

  • Updated to reflect the definitions of “Qualified Device” and “Management for Qualified Devices” as revised in October 2012 for the Enterprise Agreement, and Open Value and Open Value Subscription agreements
  • http://bit.ly/1dA2bmC

Reimaging Licensed Microsoft Software using Volume Licensing Media

  • Updated for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Previous brief: January 2013
  •  http://bit.ly/1a8GtyG

Step-up Licenses

  • Updated to reflect the available step-up licences as of November 2013
  • Previous brief: December 2012
  •  http://bit.ly/1imCMuf

Multi-Lingual User Interface (MUI) Language Packs for Windows

Office 365 Dual Access Rights

Useful post on the Microsoft Volume Licensing Blog covering dual access rights with Office 365. Three key takeaways:

  1. There’s a good table showing which plans equate to which CALs (note that not all Office 365 plans include dual access rights)
  2. Underlying on-premise servers need to be licensed for users (SQL and Windows Server to support SharePoint, for example) and
  3. Office 365 USLs can be used to access licensed servers deployed on third party servers (licensed via Licence Mobility). http://bit.ly/1cdivtH

Windows 8.1 Licensing Guide

New Windows 8.1 Licensing Guide from Microsoft (http://bit.ly/19WbhCI). Licensing largely the same, as you’d expect, but three key clarifications:

  • Customers covered with SA retain perpetual use rights for Windows 8.1 Enterprise (even after SA has expired and regardless of whether they have installed the Enterprise edition – a change from the original October 2012 Windows 8 Licensing Guide – page 9)
  • VL customers with Windows 8 Pro without SA can upgrade to Windows 8.1 Pro, but active SA is needed to upgrade to Windows 8.1 Enterprise (page 5)
  • Confirmation that primary users of a device covered with MDOP and CSL are also covered for MDOP on their companion devices (page 13).

Announcement of Student Advantage

Microsoft announce a program where Office 365 ProPlus is free for students. It’s called Student Advantage and from 1st December 2013 “any academic institution that licenses Office for staff and faculty can provide Office 365 ProPlus for students at no additional cost.” More details are to be released over the coming weeks. Read the original announcement here: http://bit.ly/196fPJG.