Tag Archives: Azure Services

Licensing School ONLINE: Latest Courses

Back in November 2015 we announced Licensing School ONLINE where we wanted to run proper training courses online. I say “proper” – our goal was to not just offer you presentations, but rather to run fully interactive training sessions that keep you engaged and interested, and end up being a great learning experience.

We started with our SAM MCP preparation course and the feedback was spontaneously fabulous with attendees giving rave reviews. So, we’ve extended our range of courses to include “Buying and Licensing Azure Services” and an online 74-678 Exam Preparation course. Let me explain how this second one will work!

If you do this course with us in-person then it’s an intensive (and fun!) full day, but we wanted a different approach for an online session. So we’ve split the content into three 2-hour sessions and we’ll be running those sessions at different times. There’s “Microsoft Products and their Licensing”, “The Microsoft Volume Licensing Programs” and “SA, Tools, and Exam Tips”. You can attend whichever sessions you want to – they all stand alone, but you’ll get a discount if you sign up for all 3, of course. The first sessions run in early February 2016 – you can find out the exact dates and times below. Costs are £55/$79 per person per session or £125/$189 for all 3 – simply use the discount code ALLMODULES when you book on the SA session and you’ll be charged just £15/$22 for this module.

 

We’ve got further dates for the SAM MCP 70-673 Exam Preparation course too. This is a 2.5 hour session where you’ll receive a workbook to download and complete, as well as 14 days of unlimited support from the trainer via email to assist you with your exam preparation. The next dates are 21 and 22 January 2016 and it’s £65/$99 per person. Register here: http://bit.ly/70-673LSO.

 

And our third online offering is “Buying and Licensing Azure Services” where we’ll teach you everything you need to know about how these slightly mysterious services are licensed and then acquired through the various licensing programs – all of them being slightly different of course! This is a one hour session and the next dates are at the end of January costing £25/$39 per person. Register here: http://bit.ly/AzureLSO.

 

There will, of course, be further sessions available in the near future. If you’ve got a tricky topic you think would make a good session then email us at info@licensingschool.co.uk and we’ll add it to our list!

Extension to Microsoft Cloud Data Centres in Europe

Microsoft announce plans to deliver commercial cloud services from data centres in multiple cities within the UK, with Azure and Office 365 available in late 2016 and Dynamics CRM Online shortly afterwards.

The Microsoft Cloud will also be available in Germany during the second half of 2016 where access to customer data will be controlled by a Data Trustee under German Law.

See the announcement here: http://bit.ly/20UNcuf.

Buying and Licensing Microsoft Azure Services Booklet

QLIL Azure Cover V1

There’s a new publication from Licensing School!

If you want to know how the Azure Services are licensed and purchased through the EA, SCE and MPSA then this is a must-have booklet.

It’s available on all Amazon sites in Kindle format now, and as a printed book on the UK site – expect to see it in other geographies later in the week. http://bit.ly/LessonsInLicensing.

Microsoft Hosting and CSP Newsletter

The October 2015 Microsoft Hosting and Cloud Service Provider Newsletter is out.

There are two things of particular note if licensing is your thing; firstly, there’s a recap of the news that Microsoft will soon allow customers to bring their own Windows Server and Windows 10 licences to Azure, and the FAQ is worth a look (http://bit.ly/1jeqDj6).

Then there’s an announcement of a new digital workshop if you want to gain a better understanding of the CSP licensing model which is free for partners to register for (http://bit.ly/1k4TzdG).

Sign up for this free monthly newsletter here: http://bit.ly/1iVEvxV.

Azure in Open FAQ

Azure consumption services were made available through the Open programs from 1 August 2014 where you buy a $100 (or equivalent) token upfront to consume services against.

This Azure in Open FAQ contains some interesting facts:

  • you must activate tokens within 5 years of purchase;
  • you forfeit all your Azure in Open balance if you associate your subscription with an EA;
  • and if you get to a zero balance then data is retained for 90 days.

Find the full FAQ here: http://bit.ly/1HdqBwY.

CRM 2015 Licensing Guide

There’s an updated CRM Server 2015 Licensing Guide for October 2015 with three sections added.

The first is on Licence Mobility with confirmation (as usual) that you need SA on CALs as well as the Server licences to use VL licences on a partner-hosted infrastructure or Azure.

The second section is Azure-specific and states that CRM Online users may also access CRM Server running on Azure.

And finally there’s an Additional Software section which explains that a Marketing Connector and Reporting Extensions are provided as part of a CRM Server licensed solution.

We’ve put all the Microsoft Licensing Guides here: bit.ly/MSlicensingguides

August 2015 MPSA Licensing Manual

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.

Licensing Office with RemoteApp

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.

Microsoft Azure Cost Estimator tool

The Microsoft Azure Cost Estimator tool is updated for July 2015. This is a nice tool for helping you to estimate the cost of running an environment in Microsoft Azure. You can scan your on-premises environment to create an estimate or create a completely customised scenario.

Download the tool here: http://bit.ly/1MjzWs5.

June 2015 License Verification Form

The License Verification Form is used to record which server application licences with SA have been assigned to Azure virtual machines or to Service Provider’s shared hardware.

The latest form is dated June 2015 and has been updated for Skype for Business: http://bit.ly/1E6vPsV.

If you want to learn more about the whole licence verification process then this customer guide is a useful resource: http://bit.ly/1o9hNAQ.