Tag Archives: Subscription Licenses

Availability of Microsoft eCDN

Microsoft announce that Microsoft eCDN is available from 1 September, 2022. eCDN stands for Enterprise Content Delivery Network and the product is designed to enhance live video streaming across an organisation.

It’s a WebRT-based solution that leverages peer-to-peer streaming technology so that rather than every viewer of a video stream pulling the video from the original source, they can also source the video stream from other viewers within the same local network. This alleviates the overall load on the corporate network for company-wide training and global events.

Licensing-wise, it’s a User Subscription License costing $0.50 per user per month with the recommendation being that all users in a tenant are licensed for optimal experience.

Find the announcement article here: https://bit.ly/3CzC0fu.

Microsoft productivity servers: the future

Microsoft announce that the next versions of Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, Skype for Business Server, and Project Server will be available in the second half of 2021.

What will be different is that they will only be available with the purchase of a subscription licence which will entitle organisations to support, product updates, and security patches.

There will also be a new perpetual release of Office for Windows and Mac in the same timeframe.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3j8SrEy.

VDA Add-on for Microsoft 365 E3/E5

A VDA Add-on for Microsoft 365 E3/E5 is added to page 57 of the March 2020 Product Terms

This Subscription Licence allows Microsoft 365 E3/E5 users to access a Windows Enterprise Virtual Desktop Infrastructure on dedicated servers when the users don’t have a primary device with a Qualifying Operating System – for example, users whose primary device is a thin client or a Mac. Note that these licences are only available to customers buying through an Enterprise Agreement.

Find the current Product Terms document here: http://bit.ly/MSproductterms.

Office 365 ProPlus Device-based Subscription for Education

Microsoft announce an Office 365 ProPlus Device-based Subscription for Education, which means that educational institutions can now assign an Office 365 ProPlus licence to a device rather than a user – useful, of course, where shared devices are used.

The experience for users is that those who DO have a User Subscription Licence including Office 365 ProPlus will be able to use the apps on the licensed device as well as their associated cloud services like OneDrive, while completely unlicensed users will be able to use the apps on the device and to save files locally. Using Office 365 ProPlus in this way doesn’t count towards one of the five allowed installations for a licensed user.

This new, free, add-on licence is available from 16 August, 2019 for customers who have an Enrollment for Education Solutions (EES) agreement where they’ve covered all Education Qualified Users with Office 365 ProPlus or a suite that includes it. They’re then entitled to as many Device-based Subscriptions as the number of Education Qualified Users.

The Device-based Subscription replaces the Lab and Library benefit that was the previous solution for institutions needing Office installed on a device basis, and note that this benefit remains for OVS-ES agreements where the new solution is not available.

Find the announcement from the Microsoft Education team here: http://bit.ly/30enR2Z, and refer to this page for deployment instructions: http://bit.ly/2KSJjnB.  

Office 365 for Mac available in the Mac App store

Microsoft announce that Office 365 for Mac is now available on the Mac App store, where users with an Office 365 subscription that includes the Office apps will be able to install the Mac versions of the Office products with a single click.

Find the announcement here: http://bit.ly/2RAfNV6 Apple also make the announcement (https://apple.co/2WhsCY4) highlighting the further benefit that businesses will now be able to use the Apple Business Manager to easily distribute the apps to employees.

Visual Studio Subscription Management Resources

Do you manage the formerly-known-as-MSDN Subscriptions for your organisation? You may know that they’re now known as Visual Studio Subscriptions and there’s change afoot for the management portal.

Find an FAQ detailing what’s happening, as well as administration guides for the current VLSC and MPSA portals here: http://bit.ly/MSLicensingGuides.

SA Benefits for SCE Subscription Licences

A Server and Cloud Enrolment requires commitment across your installed base of a particular product – SQL Server for example. If you haven’t got SA to renew, then you need to buy licences with Software Assurance for all of your servers – which can, of course, be expensive.

An alternative is to buy Subscription licences. But, do you get the same SA benefits for those Subscription licences as you do for the L&SA purchases? You do, and there’s new confirmation in the November 2015 Product Terms document – see page 31 for example.