Microsoft Volume Licensing at Tech Ed North America 2011
Microsoft Volume Licensing at Tech•Ed North America 2011
Fact Sheet
May 2011
Microsoft Volume Licensing is committed to delivering to customers and partners licensing and pricing programs that help maximize their investments and ensure that all software is being utilized to its fullest capabilities. As part of this commitment, Microsoft Corp. is showcasing three key programs:
- License mobility
- Updates to the Enterprise Agreement
- Improvements to the Software Assurance (SA) program
In addition to these changes, Microsoft is announcing the debut of The Licensing Blog, the MicrosoftVolume Licensing team blog. There,readers will find customer and partner stories, information about program updates, and other relevant information. Questions and comments can be tweetedtothe Volume Licensing Twitter account, @MSFT_VL.
License Mobility
License mobility provides customers with the flexibility and affordability to deploy certain server applications with active Software Assurance on shared hardware in the cloud. However, as per volume licensing terms, the applications in the cloud will need to be dedicated to that customer’s use. This includes Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Not only will license mobility make the transition easier for existing SA customers, it enables customers who prefer to purchase perpetual licenses to continue doing so while still taking advantage of the efficiencies that the cloud offers.
License mobility has also excited Microsoft’s partners and resellers, including Fasthosts Internet Ltd.
“Enabling license mobility is certainly a big step in the right direction,” said Andy Burton, CEO, Fasthosts Group. “It will help drive cloud adoption on the Microsoft platform, and Fasthosts is excited to bring these benefits to customers.”
Additional information on license mobility is available via the Microsoft Volume LicensingNews Center.
Updated Enterprise Agreement
Microsoft is expanding its portfolio of cloud services offerings available through Volume Licensing to include Microsoft Office 365, Windows Intune and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. The Enterprise Agreement (EA) provides the best way to license Microsoft’s on-premises software and online services within the same agreement.
Theenterprise licensingand online services licensingwebsiteshave additional information about Microsoft EA and online services.
Software Assurance Updates
In addition to the updated EA, Microsoft has added benefits to SA to help customers deploy products on-premises, in virtual environments or in the cloud. These benefits include license mobility, Microsoft Windows Thin PC and System Center Advisor:
- Windows Thin PC added to Software Assurance.Microsoft Windows Thin PC (WinTPC) enables customers to repurpose existing PCs as thin clients by providing a smaller footprint — a locked-down version of Windows 7. This provides IT departments with significant cost savings for their thin client computing model since WinTPC is a benefit of SA and does not require the Windows Virtual Desktop License that other thin clients would need to access Virtual Desktop Infrastructure desktops.More about WinTPC is available at the Windows Desktop Virtualizationwebsite.
- System Center Advisor. System Center Advisor is a cloud service that enables IT professionals to assess their server configuration and proactively avoid problems while helping support staff resolve issues faster by accessing current and historical configuration data, all with the security features that meet their needs. In addition, System Center Advisor helps reduce downtime by providing suggestions for improvement and notifying customers of key updates specific to their configuration. A complete overview of System Center Advisoris online.
- Cloud migration content added to SA Deployment PlanningServices benefit. Cloud migration content will be added to Desktop Deployment Planning Services, Exchange Deployment Planning Services and SharePoint Deployment Planning Services. The new content won’t change the program entitlement; however, the changes are reflected in additional contents that customers receive from each engagement. The Deployment Partner Services Portal features additional information about the services available.
Volume Licensing Social Media Resources
Keep up on all the latest Microsoft Volume Licensing news and views through Twitter, at@Msft_VL, and viaThe Volume Licensing Blog.
For more information, press only:
Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7070