Volume Licensing agreements are a cost-effective and flexible way to acquire the latest Microsoft products and services for emerging IT options and changing workforce requirements, help standardize IT, and simplify license management. Wherever possible Microsoft works to continue to drive additional value into volume licensing programs as well as simplify terms and conditions which govern them. 

For instance, we have updated the Enterprise Agreement so customers can add enterprise subscription agreements into a single company agreement, and we’ve also made progress simplifying the language of the Product Use Rights document.  Still, we know licensing is a multifaceted and sometimes nuanced discipline which ideally needs a continual refresh of knowledge by those who procure, maintain, and monitor software license use and compliance, raising the question: who should be on your volume licensing dream team?

Today Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced a three-year Joint Enterprise Licensing Agreement (JELA) for Microsoft enterprise licensing and Software Assurance.  According to the press release, the agreement will “modernize technology infrastructure, reduce costs and foster new levels of cross-agency collaboration” within the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).

The JELA is one of the most comprehensive Enterprise licensing agreements (ELAs) that Microsoft has ever created for the DoD, covering nearly 75 percent of all DoD personnel.  Spanning the Army, Air Force, and DISA, it provides significant potential cost savings through economies of scale, while
delivering access to the latest Microsoft technology.  The ability to standardize on the newest Microsoft products, such as Office 2013, SharePoint 2013 and Windows 8 has the potential to unlock new levels of cross-agency collaboration.   

Are you curious about Microsoft volume licensing definitions, Software Assurance, Microsoft Financing, the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon or what our partners have to say? 2012’s five most buzzworthy tweets from our Twitter handle, @Msft_VL, contained content on these topics, in both written and video formats. Each of these tweets reached a high number of total Twitter users via retweets from highly followed people. We’ve included a round-up below, with tweets slightly edited for easy reading.

Looking for more information from Microsoft on Software Assurance, licensing for virtual environments, Software Asset Management, the Enterprise Agreement or the Microsoft Services Agreement? We’ve rounded up five of 2012’s most viewed Microsoft Volume Licensing blog posts, which cover these topics, and included links to related blog posts

A Microsoft Volume Licensing Expert Answers your Burning Questions on Microsoft Software Asset Management (SAM)

Implementing a software asset management (SAM) program can be beneficial. This is especially true if your organization struggles to keep track of any of its software or licenses, or if you have many different computers and devices to inventory.

Heather Young, Global Director, SAM Programs at Microsoft, has answered three questions below on SAM that you may find useful. Specifically, her answers provide information about SAM Services, choosing a SAM partner and the common need to reconcile assets after acquisitions. Her answers include information on licensing as it relates to SAM.