Upgrade protection includes access to all major and minor version upgrades for 12 months from the date of purchase at no additional charge. To renew that coverage, customers must submit a renewal order for software assurance for all copies of all products for which they wish to renew coverage within 90 days after their authorization number expiration date. Dec 09, 20 a useful reference article on new version rights on the microsoft volume licensing blog especially perhaps if sam is your thing. Chart data includes descriptions and eligibility summaries for all software assurance benefits including new version rights, 24x7 problem resolution support, windows enterprise edition, license mobility, and others. The traditional office desktop suite becomes much more valuable with the addition of exchange, skype for business as well as office 365. Can a software assurance agreement be terminated earlier if we have entered into a 3 year contract. Microsoft software assurance sa is a microsoft maintenance program aimed at business users who use microsoft windows, microsoft office, and other server and desktop applications. Thank you and have a wonderful day, eric ligman microsoft us senior manager small business community engagement. Microsoft dynamics customers with active software assurance or an online subscription will have access to customersource. Plus you have downgrade and upgrade rights to newer versions.
Cals give end users the rights to access microsoft s servers. Using the premium assurance additions requires having software assurance sa coverage, calculating through microsoft s tiered pricing and ensuring that the servers were purchased under eligible. Microsoft pulls extended hotfix software assurance benefit. Most of the time, he used to sell pirated software to the schools. Microsoft software assurance 3 select licence sam, enterprise agreementsubscription every licence covered under software assurance may be upgraded to the newest software version. Cals give end users the rights to access microsofts servers. With new version rights you can upgrade to the most recent product version for no additional cost. Clients may not be on the latest release, but already they have the perpetual rights to it from their existing ea. Microsoft project has grown to be the worlds most popular project management software. Your employees can purchase lowcost downloads of office to. Organizations that use roaming rights properly can save money, but those that use it improperly will be out of compliance. Microsoft truedown, software assurance, and citrix are key issues according to ccl research. Chart data includes descriptions and eligibility summaries for all software assurance benefits including new version rights, 24x7 problem resolution support, windows.
We initially purchased an open volume licence along with a 3 year sa. Will we still have licensing rights to software acquired through the home use program after our software assurance coverage expires. But did you know there are special perks from microsoft, too. If my organization has software assurance, can we upgrade to the new version of any product. Microsoft has been adding additional usage rights into software assurance. Apr, 2015 many organizations install and run the office suite of applications on servers for serverbased desktops. Product licenses do not expire and are valid for as long as you own the product. May 22, 2006 be sure to check out all of the software assurance benefits that are also included when you add software assurance to your oem office licenses within 90 days, such as. Download microsoft software assurance interactive benefits chart from official microsoft download center. Payments for licence and software assurance can be spread into equal annual payments. For more information, see the microsoft product list and product use rights available on the. The core premise behind sa is to give users the ability to spread payments over several years, while offering free upgrades to newer versions during that time period.
The software licensing advisors guide to microsoft software assurance rights this guide summarizes software assurance sa benefits that are described in multiple microsoft documents, particularly the microsoft product list, and microsoft product use rights. Microsoft project software assurance 1 user 07602018. Ten years ago this month, microsoft introduced the most controversial licensing program in its history. What are the implications for you if youve recently lost roaming use rights for these products. Microsoft will provide these benefits at no additional charge for software assurance customers.
But they wont be able to add workloads or upgrade to a new product. Using the premium assurance additions requires having software assurance sa coverage, calculating through microsofts tiered pricing and. Software assurance microsoft partner 500 equivalent employees. Microsoft adds software assurance to windows embedded 8. Sql it is important to know what products have certain sarules and requirements so that you have the right to. Software assurance microsoft partner 500 equivalent. In anticipation of our upcoming microsoft licensing seminar in new york on 21st october 2015, our analyst david foxen interviewed steven kelley director of software licensing advisors and one of the expert speakers at our new york event his session software assurance placing bets on microsoft s future will delve into why he thinks microsoft software assurance customers. Microsoft licensing is the single largest it expense for many.
A few licensing tidbits, and other microsoft product changes, are showing up in obscure places. To get access to downgrade rights, software assurance sa is available to purchase for underlying oem office professional licenses within 90 days from the date of the oem purchase. Software assurance benefits microsoft volume licensing. Microsoft marks end to upgrade program techrepublic. However one of microsofts rules is that sa cannot be novated. Microsoft chief executive steve ballmer explains why he saw a need for the companys radical change in software licensing and what the company learned from trying to push through the new programme. Msft will see an upgrade cycle for office 2010, but it will take a while. Should i buy software assurance with my microsoft licenses. If your licenses are under sa when a new version is released, you get to upgrade to that new version at no charge.
Use the product lists 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. Software assurance early termination microsoft community. Entitlement summary commercial and government offerings new version rights licensed products with software assurance coverage can be upgraded to the latest version of that product made available during the covered period. Software assurance working out costs over 4 year period. Microsoft adds 6 years to windows server and sql server. Adding software assurance to your oem office licenses. The answer depends on your situation and what you want to achieve with your purchase. Steve ballmer still believes the company made the right choice, but its. Microsoft is leveraging the immediacy and urgency of security updates to force customers into paying for software assurance. The first step is understanding what software assurance is, so in this post i will try to explain it in a clear and concise manner. Extend the value of your virtual desktop environment with roaming use rights on office, project or visio. Microsoft products via your original ea, so the renewal is merely an extension of the maintenance element, which microsoft calls software assurance sa.
Jul 14, 2015 in the last couple of years, microsoft has been adding additional usage rights into software assurance. How to use or renew your software assurance benefits techsoup. Can i renew a recently expired office 2010 volume license. Mandatory software assurance sometimes buying sa coverage isnt an option at all, as in the case of client access licenses cals.
New software assurance enhancements now available for. Microsoft has been accused of profiting from the move to software assurance. The new software assurance benefits and enhancements are scheduled to be available in march 2006, with the exception of extended lifecycle hotfix support, which became available in july 2005, and windows vista enterprise, which will be available when the windows vista product line is released in fall 2006. Software licensing advisors guide to software assurance page 1 of 17. Microsoft dynamics customersource microsoft dynamics customersource is an online portal that includes a broad set of product and service support resources for dynamics customers with software assurance coverage. Users will no longer be able to upgrade from previous versions of their microsoft software. In case youre not familiar, the vlsc is an online tool for managing microsoft volume licensing agreements, downloading products, and accessing volume license keys. A useful reference article on new version rights on the microsoft volume licensing blog especially perhaps if sam is your thing. Subscribers may upgrade to newer versions of their microsoft software. She also accused microsoft of trying to limit choice around sql server. What microsofts upcoming outsourcing licensing changes could. Chart data includes descriptions and eligibility summaries for all software assurance benefits including new version rights, 24x7 problem resolution support, windows enterprise edition.
Subsequently on expiry of the 3 year term, we renewed the sa for another 3 years but now would like to discontinue at the end of first year. Aug 17, 2015 lately, microsoft has identified desirable ways that companies use their products and then removes these use rights from the standard product usage, only to add it back when one carries software assurance on the product. To renew your software assurance benefits, request a standalone software assurance product through techsoup up to 90 days before your original benefits expire. If you are running sql server on the aws cloud with dedicated host without software assurance sa which is. Oem versions of microsoft office software licenses do not grant downgrade rights. After ga of windows server 2016, customers are encouraged to inventory their environment using appropriate tools, including software inventory logging sil, or thirdparty inventory tools. Volume licenses can be purchased with software assurance,a microsoft program that provides additional benefits beyond the core volume license including software version upgrade rights at no additional cost, a home use purchase program providing a significant discount for purchasing an additional license for home use e. However, office in serverbased desktops is typically one of the top areas for scrutiny during a software license compliance check. Volume licensing service center software assurance. With license mobility through software assurance, you can deploy certain server application licenses purchased under your volume licensing agreement in an. Why microsoft software assurance customers never win the. Since then, it has evolved into todays software assurance program, a very different offering than when it was simply an upgrade program. Microsoft truedown, software assurance, and citrix are key. Plus you have downgrade and upgrade rights to newer versions of the software as they are made available.
Microsoft windows rights management services license. Microsoft software assurance offers rights to upgrade to the latest version without incurring additional licensing costs. If you are in the market for microsoft licenses, one question you should be asking is. Microsoft truedown, software assurance, and citrix are. You cant, however, upgrade to versions that microsoft releases after your software assurance expires. The changes affect software assurance benefits, appv deployments, exchange online unified messaging. In particular, server mobility rights required for data centres where there is load balancing or high availability capability are acquired through sa. Software assurance sa is a subscription added to microsoft licenses that offers additional benefits over just being licensed to use the software. After ga of windows server 2016, customers are encouraged to inventory their environment using appropriate tools, including software inventory logging sil. Microsoft volume licensing frequently asked questions.
Roaming use rights is a benefit of software assurance on microsoft windows client and office products that is difficult to understand. Gregor kneitz, who is a microsoft senior product manager for volume license programs will provide information about these benefits and will answer your questions about how to access it. Software assurance is a collection of benefits included with microsoft products requested through techsoup. May 23, 20 submain customers can purchase 12 months of software assurance subscription with the purchase of any new codeit. Download microsoft software assurance interactive benefits. New version rights with software assurance explained. Downgrade rights for windows 7 will be hugely important, an analyst said today, but hes not optimistic that microsoft corp. Microsofts office upgrade cycles helped by software. Microsoft software assurance benefits for office can help your organization accelerate deployment and improve enduser. One in four companies that bought into microsofts software assurance licensing programme in 2004 are being deterred from renewing the threeyear deal because they perceive it to be poor value. Microsoft adds eight benefits and enhancements to the. The end of the program will likely serve as something of a litmus test for software assurance. Microsoft projects installed base includes a wide variety of user types, ranging from generalknowledge workers to expert project managers. Nov 07, 2011 microsoft is leveraging the immediacy and urgency of security updates to force customers into paying for software assurance.
Serverbased desktops can reduce operating costs and improve security. Microsoft slammed over changes to cloud licensing cloud pro. Software assurance and support renewal reinstatement. Software assurance by product microsoft volume licensing. Get genuine operating systems do not include software assurance benefits. Microsoft software assurance support incident submission. Microsoft software assurance what it is and how it. Microsoft software assurance sa is a microsoft maintenance program aimed at business.
Microsoft includes two years of software assurance with most volume licensing products it donates through techsoup canada. Sep 10, 2003 microsoft will provide these benefits at no additional charge for software assurance customers. Be sure to check out all of the software assurance benefits that are also included when you add software assurance to your oem office licenses within 90 days, such as. New version rights, license mobility, and home use are popular benefits, but software assurance doesnt stop there. Microsofts software assurance programme is now running. Software assurance coverage ordered under an open license authorization number ends upon expiration of that number. Windows virtual desktop access rights vda enables users to access virtual instances of windows in a variety of user scenarios. The most important part of sa, by far, is the upgrade rights, whose value depends not on the next upgrade as one might think, but on the nextbutone upgrade. Ninety days prior to expiration, your vlsc account owner should receive an email from microsoft saying that the benefits are expiring soon. Licensing office for serverbased desktops directions on. The accused would sending fake letters to various delhi schools and force them to purchase the software in bulk from him.
How impersonators sold pirated microsoft software to delhi. If your nonprofit or public library received donated microsoft software through techsoup, you probably used the volume licensing service center vlsc to get your software. Roaming use rights for office, project and visio allow users with software assurance on office, project, or visio to remotely access their software on their virtual desktops from thirdparty devices such as home pcs and internet kiosk. Sep 27, 20 software assurance sa is a subscription added to microsoft licenses that offers additional benefits over just being licensed to use the software. The software licensing advisors guide to microsoft.
Upgrade protection, elearning, home use rights, etc. Software assurance benefits are not the same as product licenses. Software assurance is only available through a microsoft volume licensing agreement. Nov 27, 20 software assurance working out costs over 4 year period. Dec 23, 2014 if you are in the market for microsoft licenses, one question you should be asking is. Submain customers can purchase 12 months of software assurance subscription with the purchase of any new codeit. Expert offers tips on microsofts software assurance. If my organization has software assurance, can we upgrade to the. Just as the program has changed, says rozas, so have the reasons to invest in it. Microsoft software assurance deals questioned by it chiefs. Software assurance is a comprehensive volume licensing program that includes a unique set of technologies, services, and rights to help you deploy, manage. Software assurance by benefit microsoft volume licensing.
Now software assurance customers have more than a maintenance agreement with microsoft, says microsofts director of marketing and readiness for the world wide licensing and pricing group, cori hartje. It can combine the latest software with telephone support available 24 hours a. Like most terms in microsoft licensing, sa looks like an industry standard concept, but has sufficient microsoftspecific nuances. Reduce software and services costs with rights to new software releases and costefficient upgrades. Roaming use rights for the windows enterprise operating system and the windows vda licenses are discontinued on january 31, 2017 or at the end of a customers existing enrollment whichever is later. Why microsoft software assurance customers never win. Microsoft includes two years of free software assurance with most volume licensing products it donates through techsoup.
Microsoft differentiates license and software assurance. Expert offers tips on microsofts software assurance program. My question is about the transistion of software assurance from ws2012 to ws2016. Software assurance frequently asked questions m new version rights q.
In anticipation of our upcoming microsoft licensing seminar in new york on 21st october 2015, our analyst david foxen interviewed steven kelley director of software licensing advisors and one of the expert speakers at our new york event. Fail over rights allows a passivefailover instance i. The benefit most people think of with sa is upgrade rights. In fact, microsofts software assurance licensing, which allows you. Microsoft software assurance elearning courses provide interactive. With microsoft sa, you are guaranteed your business will not be left behind. In fact, microsofts software assurance licensing, which allows you to buy rights for future upgrades.
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