The adoption of cloud services and virtualization may add layers of complexity to product licensing; therefore, customers must be become even more diligent with volume licensing practices. To better understand the challenges and opportunities that customers are facing, Microsoft (WWLP) has established a Volume Licensing Customer Advisory Board to solicit and track feedback on licensing programs, elicit new ideas and validate strategy, in order to build long-term satisfaction among customers.

This is article four of a four part series of blog posts describing the many benefits of Software Assurance.

Following on our previous article about Software Assurance (SA), which described Microsoft’s more traditional SA benefits, we thought it would be a good timing to highlight one of the more specialized benefits within SA; the Spread Payment benefit.

Widely viewed as an essential ingredient for maximizing the value of Microsoft volume licensing, purchases Software Assurance has been a part of Microsoft’s licensing offerings since 2001.  Over time the program has expanded significantly to encapsulate twenty  different benefits. Complimentary to other categories of SA benefits such as new version rights, deployment planning, training and support, the Spread Payment option has been an important and integral part of Software Assurance from the initial roll out of the program.

Microsoft’s own “Lady Licensing,” Emma Healey, posted a blog entry today about System Center 2012 (SC 2012) simplifing its multi-SKU lineup to two editions (datacenter and standard) to provide an integrated solution to manage applications across private, public and hybrid cloud scenarios.  She discusses how the updated licensing changes better align users with a hybrid cloud management design, which Microsoft continues to see as a prevalent trend in customer scenarios.

Together with Windows Server, System Center 2012 anchors Microsoft’s private cloud environment, helping make it possible for customers to build and manage the world of hybrid IT.  We believe fewer SKUs and a simpler licensing construct make it easier for customers to choose Microsoft’s integrated private cloud solution leveraging the Windows Server platform and systems management solutions. It also creates a real opportunity to leverage the Enrollment for Core Infrastructure (ECI) offerings.

From the folks who brought you the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP) Toolkit 6.5—one of this blog’s most popular posts—the Microsoft Solution Accelerator team now brings us the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012 (MDT), available for download today.

The MDT is a solution accelerator for operating systems and application deployment. With the new version, users can now deploy Windows 7, Office 2010, Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Windows Server “8” Beta and Windows Server 2008 R2 with the new release. It is also the recommended process and toolset for automating Windows 7 and Office 365 deployments.

The Solution Accelerators Team added new features to MDT 2012 that include the ability for users to initiate and customize their own deployments using System Center Configuration Manager 2012, key enhancements in Windows 7 driver support, and much more.

From virtualization, device proliferation and the consumerization of IT, managing an enterprise’s IT inventory is becoming increasingly complex and time consuming.  But it’s a task of significant importance, as organizations want to take advantage of every software license they hold, and manage the updates, support and service that are attendant.  Getting an accurate count on software licenses and assets can be difficult.  Inventory can consume people resources, time and budget, and even then it leaves many software procurement teams with an “educated guess” on what they need to buy or what they no longer need.

To that end, customers have asked us to help them lower the cost of managing their software licenses. We have responded by providing more robust SAM Services, in addition to free tools such as the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit

Today, Microsoft is taking its efforts a step further by announcing plans to implement the ISO/IEC 19770-2:2009 standard for software identification tags.  These SWID tags are simple XML files embedded in the software that provide a universal method for IT departments to track and manage the software running in their respective IT environments.

Microsoft Volume Licensing serves organizations worldwide of virtually all sizes, from those with just a few employees to those with tens of thousands dispersed across the globe. Seeing similarities between your organization’s needs and the success achieved by another company through a case study is a great way to help inform your choices.

With this in mind, the Microsoft Case Studies website serves as the go-to resource into how customers and partners utilize the various Microsoft Volume Licensing programs, from open value to the enterprise agreement, and numerous other options which provide the flexibility and cost efficiencies to the best technology solution.

To gain access to the software that they need to run their businesses, software customers must navigate a lot of contractual territory. Most customers are managing multiple software license contracts, and the terms of these contracts — even within the same vendor's roster of products — are almost always different. Complexity increases compliance risk and reduces customer satisfaction.

Meanwhile, customers are also calling for increased flexibility in software licensing -- concurrent licensing, pay-per-use models, and licensing approaches that allow customers to take advantage of the benefits of virtualization — while at the same time that they are calling for increased simplicity. Market dynamics are ensuring that the complexities associated with understanding and managing software license contracts will likely increase. So, how can flexibility be simplified? How can complexity be managed?

IDC suggests that software customers employ a three-pronged approach to dealing with this complexity — process, technology, and compromise.

Recently we have been asked whether and how Microsoft partners and outsourcers can use Windows 7 Clients on hosted server platforms to deliver desktops as a service while remaining consistent with their licenses.  Microsoft’s licensing allows the following:

• Customers that want to work with partners to have them host Windows 7 in a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure solution on their behalf, can do so when the customer provides the partner licenses through the customer’s own agreements with Microsoft. The hosting hardware must be dedicated to, and for the benefit of the customer, and may not be shared by or with any other customers of that partner.
  
• Microsoft partners who host under the Services Provider License Agreement (“SPLA”) may bring some desktop-like functionality as a service by using Windows Server and Remote Desktop Services.  Under this solution, the partner is free to offer this service to any customer they choose, whether or not they have a direct licensing agreement with Microsoft. However, it is important to note that SPLA does not support delivery of Windows 7 as a hosted client or provide the ability to access Office as a service through Windows 7.  Office may only be provided as a service if it is hosted on Windows Server and Remote Desktop Services.

Later this month, the Microsoft Volume Licensing team is giving the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Subscription Administration experience a fresh look. New and existing MSDN Subscription Administrators will be able to access and administer their MSDN Subscriptions via a tab on the main menu of the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC).

With these changes, it will be easier for subscription administrators and partners to manage subscriptions, and similar to other VLSC functionality, they’ll need fewer clicks to add a new subscriber.

We’re pleased to announce availability of “Why an updated Microsoft Enterprise Agreement?” white paper which aims to spotlight key areas of business value customers can derive from the updated EA.

This is written with the intent to respond to feedback we’ve received from customers as well as both partners and analysts for additional perspective on why we made changes to the EA and more importantly how these changes can benefit organizations.

[click through to the article to read an excerpt from the white paper]

One of the great benefits of the new Enterprise Agreement (EA) is the flexibility it provides enterprise customers, enabling them to procure and manage a mix of both software and cloud services products within a single agreement all the while adding cloud services at their preferred pace.

For those customers looking to make the leap to Office365 and take advantage of the EA, we encourage registering for the upcoming webcast seminar “Considering a Move to Office365? Let Microsoft explain the move to you!” 

This is article three of four in a series of blog posts describing the many benefits of Software Assurance

Following on our previous article about Software Assurance (SA), which described how SA can support customers considering migrating some or all of their applications to the cloud, we thought now would be a good time to highlight some of Microsoft’s more traditional SA benefits.

Software Assurance has been a part of Microsoft’s licensing offerings since 2001. While occasionally perceived as an “insurance policy” to deliver access to free software upgrades, SA has expanded greatly since its introduction and is now widely viewed as an essential ingredient for maximizing the value of Microsoft volume licensing purchases.

Today, Microsoft announced the general availability of the new System Center Advisor (formerly Microsoft codename ‘Atlanta’) as part of the innumerable benefits available through Software Assurance (SA).

System Center Advisor is a cloud service hosted on Windows Azure that enables IT Professionals to proactively avoid server configuration problems by assessing static, runtime and operational data to identify potential issues that cause outages or poor performance. 

VIDEO: With the launch of System Center 2012, the enterprise datacenter evolves in a fundamental way, with huge implications across the business. Hear what’s behind System Center 2012 from the Microsoft engineers and product managers who build the product.            

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Earlier today, Microsoft announced the System Center 2012 release candidate during a live webcast featuring Satya Nadella, president of Microsoft Server and Tools Business.  In the webcast, Nadella outlined how Microsoft’s private cloud solution will help businesses move faster, save money and better compete in 2012 and the future.

The Microsoft Volume Licensing team has updated its news Web site. Not only does the site have a new look and feel, it features the latest news and views of Microsoft Volume licensing and pricing from within and outside the organization—all in one convenient place.

Many IT organizations are contemplating how to maintain and upgrade their assets on premises, while also investing wisely to support a strategic and cost-effective transition to cloud.  In today’s economy, reserving cash is a priority, and for many, financing to run, grow or transform an IT organization is a necessary consideration.

Recently, one of Europe’s leading IT providers turned to Microsoft Financing in support of updated Volume Licensing through a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, Select Plus and Software Assurance.  Its goal:  reduce IT costs, increase efficiency, and enable a flexible approach to software deployment and rollout across operations in Europe and Asia.

Since launching the Microsoft Volume Licensing blog in May, we have enjoyed sharing our news and highlights with our readers and are looking forward to more great things to come in 2012. It’s been a busy year for the Microsoft Volume Licensing team and we wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of our top highlights from 2011.

Ensuring licensing provides ample flexibility to embrace the cloud on your terms has been a focus for us this past year and we know it is top-of-mind for many customers and partners. Throughout the year, we’ve made
many tools and resources available to help our customers make a smooth transition incorporating the power of cloud computing...

Earlier this year, we shared how the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 6.0 can simplify cloud migration planning. Now the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team has made the MAP Toolkit 6.5 available for download.

The new capabilities in the MAP Toolkit 6.5 will help organizations make the journey to the cloud smoother than ever. Find all the details on the download page for the MAP Toolkit 6.5.

Following on our first of four articles about Software Assurance (SA), which describes how SA can help customers move to Office 365, I’d like to highlight some additional SA benefits that may be of interest to customers considering migrating some or all of their applications to the cloud.

Starting this month, customers in the United States and Canada have the option to contact a Microsoft Volume Licensing specialist through an online chat function. The service is available weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time and enables customers to engage in real-time with our representatives in a convenient format.

Back in September we shared details about “What’s New with Microsoft Software Asset Management Services” and yesterday we saw an article post on Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) by Jon Roskill, CVP, Worldwide Partner Group which we thought would be of further interest.

With so much interest in the Cloud we continue to receive questions about how one can best leverage the benefits of the Software Assurance (SA) program as it relates to Office 365. So we wanted to share with you the essentials for maximizing the value of SA as it pertains to helping you move to Office 365 and explain what happens to your SA benefits after you move to Office 365. In a future post, we’ll share other aspects of SA which are important to evaluate to derive even greater value through this program from your technology investments.

There are several SA benefits you can use to help you assess Office 365 and plan for your migration. This new factsheet, Move to Office 365 with Software Assurance, provides a quick reference on benefits that can help you evaluate, plan, and prepare for Office 365.

In August, we announced changes to the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) would be made throughout the month.  In order to make sure that all our customers and partners take advantage of the new tools and resources, we’ve published an overview of the changes, tips on how to get started and several video demos to help make the change smoother.  And today, we’ve posted a “how-to” video for the VLSC available to MSDN subscribers here.   After all, we know that change is change, and change can be challenging.

You can read all about the newest version of Windows Intune over on the Windows blog; a quick summary follows below along with links to useful resources. 

Windows Intune brings together Windows cloud services for PC management, endpoint protection, and a Windows 7 upgrade subscription. With its simple web-based console, it can help you manage and secure virtually all your users’ PCs through the cloud—whether they’re working onsite, at home, in a remote office, or on the road. All you need is an Internet connection and the Windows Intune client installed on each PC you wish to manage.

As of October 3, 2011 the Agreement refresh updates will go into effect.  In comparison to previous years there are fewer changes to note, due in large part to the significant changes already implemented through the process of updating the Enterprise Agreement.