We’re jolly proud that Louise’s posts on Microsoft’s Volume Licensing blog were in the top 3 viewed last year! Check out the other posts in the top 3 (Office Web Apps Server and the MPSA) and find Louise’s articles on licensing VDI, VDA, SQL Server and Windows/Office. http://bit.ly/1cXFV4x
Microsoft Products and Services Agreement Licensing Manual
New Microsoft Products and Services Agreement Licensing Manual; probably the best, no-frills overview of the new MPSA, so worth a read. If you know your Select Plus licensing, start with that in mind as you read about Purchasing Accounts (affiliates), Price Levels (as Select Plus), Points (all Online Services at 1 point across Applications or Servers pool), and Price Level Adjustments (as Select Plus). Significant changes include the all-powerful Microsoft Volume Licensing Center that allows the usual licence management but adds ordering and allocation of Online Services too.
Information on Microsoft’s Next Generation Volume Licensing Initiative
A late Christmas present! – Lots of information from Microsoft about their Next Generation Volume Licensing initiative. If you read just one of the documents, go for the “Learn more about the MPSA” one. Otherwise here’s the summary:
Microsoft are at the start of their journey to revamp the Volume Licensing programs, and the new Microsoft Products and Services Agreement currently allows Select Plus-esque purchases with two key differences
- both on-premise and Online Services can be purchased (and both count towards the points in a pool), and
- you can’t buy SA just yet.
Forefront UAG approaches End Of Life
The Forefront lineup continues to dwindle and now it’s Forefront UAG that’s soon to be End Of Life… Microsoft made the announcement on their Server and Tools Blog, where key takeaways are:
- Forefront UAG will be removed from price lists on 1 July 2014
- Customers with active SA on a Forefront UAG Server licence will receive a Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard licence, and
- Any customers with active SA on UAG at 1 December 2013 may add new UAG server instances, users and devices without ordering additional licences.
The full article is here: http://bit.ly/1dxYXwb
Office 365 Switch Plans Wizard now supports switching between service families
If you’re given the wrong Office 365 plan for Christmas all is now not lost! The Switch Plans Wizard adds the capability to switch Office 365 plans across service families, so Small Business subscribers can switch to both Midsize and Enterprise plans, and Midsize Business subscribers can now switch to the Enterprise plans. Some of the restrictions remain: if you have more than 300 users you can’t use the Wizard; it’s still only for MOSA customers rather than customers who’ve purchased through Open; and any unsupported Wizardly switches must still be carried out manually. http://bit.ly/1exMwWl
Editions for SQL Server 2014
SQL 2014 is on its way… MSDN article confirms the editions (at this stage anyway!) as unchanged from SQL 2012 with Standard,
BI, Enterprise, Web, Developer, and Express editions. http://bit.ly/1enIXSv
Microsoft Webcast on Windows Embedded and its Licensing
Are you, like I was, completely out-of-date on your Windows Embedded licensing knowledge? It became available through VL programs on 1st July 2013 and if you’re not up to speed yet, this Microsoft webcast is half an hour well spent. Use it to find out about: Functionality – Embedded is now full Windows with EXTRA industry functionality (anyone else’s jaw drop?!); VL rules – similar to full Windows with upgrade licences requiring a qualifying OS, and adding SA within 90 days; SKUs/availability – useful slides show a SKU description, and channel and VL program availability. http://bit.ly/1hWs95r
Microsoft Webcast on Azure and its Licensing
Really rather good Microsoft webcast on Azure and its licensing. Useful takeaways:
- pricing comparison (the Azure list price will always be the same as Amazon Web Services, and the Azure EA price will always be lower);
- how to purchase Azure in an EA (make an upfront payment, pay any additional usage either annually – for up to 50% overage – or quarterly for more than that);
- how existing EA customers are impacted (overage penalties go away immediately, existing quarterly payments remain in place with annual payments starting at renewal).
This webcast was originally aimed at Enterprise customers in the US and the licensing portion starts at 13:49 but I’d recommend the whole thing if you want to get a handle on the positioning of Azure too. http://bit.ly/19lQ5uq
Paying for Azure in an Enterprise Agreement
Want to know how paying for Azure in an EA works? I thought this graphic showed it well. Read the full “Licensing Windows Azure for the Enterprise” article here: http://bit.ly/1fmjEND
New Version Rights with Software Assurance Explained
A useful reference article on New Version Rights on the Microsoft Volume Licensing Blog – especially perhaps if SAM is your thing. Key takeaways:
- Use the Product List’s “Date Available” column to confirm the date needed for active SA for rights to run a particular version of the software
- Confirmation that the latest version does not have to be deployed when SA expires for customers to retain rights to deploy it later – with perpetual licences of course.
Find the full article here: http://bit.ly/1ksOR2e