One thing to keep in mind is microsoft is now on an annual release cycle both on the server and desktop side of things. Why microsoft software assurance customers never win. Solved windows server 2019 datacenter using software assurance to minimize license cost ms licensing spiceworks. Software assurance benefits included with microsoft donations. Software assurance benefits microsoft volume licensing. How long does my microsoft software assurance last. As a software assurance training vouchers partner, microsoft will compensate you to provide instructorled, technical classroom training. Software assurance is a collection of benefits for microsoft products. Software assurance programs partner center microsoft docs. Using software assurance benefits can help you take full advantage of your investments in it. With software assurance coverage on the servers, the azure hybrid benefit program lets organizations save up to 55 percent on the cost of running sql server and windows server in azure. With this software assurance benefit, there is no need to purchase new licenses and no associated mobility fees so, you can easily deploy existing licenses on the. Payments are handled through the software assurance voucher benefit savb online payment tool. Microsoft offers software assurance only with its volume licensing programs.
Beware hidden costs of microsofts new windows server. After redeeming planning services vouchers, you must invoice microsoft for payment. Microsoft software assurance big risk for a small reward. Do microsoft customers really need software assurance. The license mobility benefit is available to microsoft customers with eligible server applications covered by active microsoft software assurance. If you have purchased software assurance with your microsoft software, you may be able to take advantage of your existing microsoft volume licensing investments and move to the aws cloud without paying additional microsoft licensing fees. Expert offers tips on microsofts software assurance. The value and benefit gained under microsoft volume licensing programs and through use of microsoft software and services may vary by customer. Onpremises can be used to describe both an end customer or service provider environment, as long as it is for their own usage and not resold. 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. Microsoft announced today changes to their software assurance sa benefits offerings that will be gradually rolled out starting in february 2020 and fully implemented by january 2022. It offers reduced complexity for users, administrators and developers as well as quicker, easiertouse business solutions at lower costs. Aws is 5 times more expensive than azure for windows server and sql server. Microsoft sql server 2017 enterprise 2 core w software.
The point of buying it with software assurance, means you get upgrade rights when the next server version is released. I recently conducted a meeting with a cio to discuss his companys options going into its microsoft renewal negotiation, and he acknowledged that he, like most of my clients, was largely in the dark about the costs and benefits of software assurance often referred to as sa. 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. Models for assessing the cost and value of software assurance. Software assurance benefits expire after two years. Software assurance planning services in partner center. Windows virtual desktop access rights vda enables users to access virtual instances of windows in a variety of user scenarios. Customers should refer to their agreements for a full understanding of their rights and obligations under microsoft s volume licensing programs. Reduce software and services costs with rights to new software releases and costefficient upgrades. Eliminating sa on some products can lead to savings.
We are spreading the cost of the build over a few months as we go along. The software assurance spread payments benefit works with your budget and helps lower your initial licensing costs. Discounted microsoft products are available with or without software assurance. Customers should refer to their agreements for a full understanding of. With new version rights, each microsoft product license that is covered by active software assurance can be upgraded to the most recent version for no additional cost. A necessary cost microsoft vaguely defines software assurance or sa as a comprehensive volume licensing program that includes an extensive set of technologies, services. The ideal model for calculating the cost and value of software assurance may be one of these, or it may be a new model that builds on the common features that we have discussed. Microsoft announces changes to software assurance benefits. Microsoft open license is a software volume licensing program designed for corporate, government, charity, and academic customers who order as few as five licenses. Microsoft provides this material solely for informational purposes. Participation in software assurance programs, including software assurance training vouchers satv and planning services, provides you an opportunity to grow your business with microsoft enterprise customers. The disaster recovery software assurance benefit applies to microsoft server products protected with azure site recovery. The sa support offering is governed by microsoft s current software assurance terms and conditions.
Seth explains the benefits to software assurance and helps you weigh. 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. Microsoft software assurance changes to favor fasttrack. Microsoft software assurance sa is a microsoft maintenance program aimed at business. Reduce costs, improve efficiency, increase productivity software assurance helps your organization spend less and do more. Organisations such as businesses that purchase software through microsoft volume licensing must normally purchase software assurance as a separate option. A necessary cost microsoft vaguely defines software assurance or sa as a comprehensive volume licensing program. License mobility through software assurance gives microsoft volume licensing customers the flexibility to deploy eligible server applications with active software assurance on azure. Like the rights for windows server, these allow azure costs to be reduced through the use of volume licenses with software assurance. The answer depends on your situation and what you want to achieve with your purchase. Microsoft s software assurance gives you automatic access to new technology and provides productivity benefits, support, tools, and training to help deploy and use software efficiently. Software assurance is a comprehensive volume licensing program that includes a unique set of technologies, services, and rights to help you deploy, manage, and use your microsoft products more efficiently. Software assurance is an extra annual charge on top of microsofts software licensing costs.
Achieve the lowest cost of ownership when you combine the azure hybrid benefit, reservation pricing, and extended security updates. For desktop products mainly windows and office sa costs 29% of the license price each year. To renew your software assurance benefits, request a standalone software assurance product through techsoup up to 90 days before your original benefits expire. 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. Not every microsoft customer needs software assurance on all of the vendors offerings. Microsoft software assurance leistungsubersicht lizenzen. Microsoft sql server enterprise edition is the complete database and analysis offering that rapidly delivers the next generation of scalable ecommerce, lineofbusiness and data warehousing solutions. Software assurance has an annual cost of 29% of the license price for desktop products e. Microsoft sql server 2017 enterprise 2 core w software assurance open license microsoft sql server 2017 enterprise get industryleading performance, availability, and security on the platform of your choice, including windows, linux, and docker. The default microsoft license prices used in the presets of this calculator are based on sql server 2017 open no level prices from.
Additionally, software assurance is not as robust of a technical support offering. Software assurance spans a broad range of microsoft software and services, including windows, microsoft office, exchange, system center, sql server, and many others. Software assurance is available exclusively through microsoft volume licensingthe most cost effective, flexible, and manageable way to acquire microsoft software and cloud services. In 2008 we conducted a workshop on business case, and all indications are that there. To submit an invoice to microsoft through savb, follow the instructions in step 8 of the workflow. Beware hidden costs of microsoft s new windows server licensing the move to percore licensing could increase the costs of windows server substantially and impact software assurance customers as well. Lets calculate the odds on the microsoft software assurance gamble. Server 2012 r2 without software assurance is not that expensive. If you are in the market for microsoft licenses, one question you should be asking is. It adds the ability to upgrade to the next software. Software assurance benefits calculated by this tool are an estimate only, and the results generated do not constitute an offer. Mandatory software assurance sometimes buying sa coverage isnt an option at all, as in the case of client access licenses cals. With these new benefits, software assurance customers will be able to implement hybrid disaster recovery plans with sql server using our features like always on availability groups without incurring additional licensing costs for the passive replicas.
With software assurance, you receive access to new versions of licensed software released during the term of your agreement to deploy at your own pace. Software assurance lowers cost for high availability applications where multiple servers are necessary since passive licenses are less expensive. Microsoft office pro plus 2016 and software assurance. Licensing programs eligibility requirements microsoft. Should i buy software assurance with my microsoft licenses. Without software assurance all licenses for ha are considered active which increases cost. They can be renewed by requesting a standalone software assurance product through techsoup up to 90 days before the end of the twoyear term, but not after the benefits have already expired. For more information, see the microsoft product list and product use rights available on the microsoft volume licensing web site. Receive free extended security updates when you migrate your windows server and sql server 2008 and 2008 r2 workloads to azure virtual machines. Half of the platforms licenses are covered with software assurance.
New high availability and disaster recovery benefits for. Software assurance is often criticized for its expense and the lack of free software upgrades within the contract period. Instead of one upfront payment, you spread the costs of your volume licensing and software assurance purchase across three equal, annual sums, helping you forecast your technology budget up to three years in advance. The slick and sharp looking sorftware are there to help you achieve the maximum productivity in no time, similar to other office software but better.
Ideal for fullfeatured version of sql server software that allows developers to costeffectively build, test, and demonstrate applications based on sql server software. What you need to know mdop is a benefit of windows software assurance for volume licensing customers. Microsoft replacing premiere assurance support with new. In support of the nonprofit community, microsoft has generously included software assurance with virtually all of. This removes a major blocker, in microsoft s eyes at least, to sql workloads being moved into azure. Software assurance by product microsoft volume licensing. How to use or renew your software assurance benefits techsoup. For example, if a new version of windows is released during the term of your agreement, your licenses are automatically upgraded to the new version. Software assurance working out costs over 4 year period. This change was made in the 2015 product use rights pur. If your sa expires, and you still have a license for configuration manager, you can no longer use the current branch. If your organization has or plans to invest in sa, you will need to understand how these changes will impact your ability to accrue, redeem, and consume these benefits moving forward. Software assurance spans microsofts range of software products and services, including the windows operating system, microsoft office, exchange, sql server. In 2005 microsoft figured out how to tap into the revenue stream of extended warranties for software.
For your specific pricing, contact your microsoft reseller. 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. Ninety days prior to expiration, your vlsc account owner should receive an email from microsoft saying that the benefits are expiring soon. Microsoft desktop optimization pack mdop can help you deploy and manage customer environments effectively, and earn the following competency. The software assurance benefits calculator is an online tool to calculate estimated software assurance benefits that customers may be entitled to. Microsoft volume licensing microsoft software assurance. Microsoft software assurance support incident submission. This is why your sa renewal will cost only a fraction of what you paid. Windows server 2019 datacenter using software assurance to. Cals give end users the rights to access microsoft s servers. After the initial order, customers can benefit from volume pricing for all licenses for the remainder of the term of their open license authorization number.
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