The Importance of Software Assurance in Microsoft Licensing
by Spencer Ferguson

In the ever-evolving world of Microsoft volume licensing, it has become increasingly more important to understand licensing programs.  In the past customers became familiar with purchasing version, competitive, or product upgrades when a decision was made to upgrade to a more current version.  These options have been replaced by software assurance.  Some misconceptions exist regarding software maintenance.  There are those who believe that these programs are both harder to administer and more expensive than past upgrade options.  Fortunately, this is not the case.  Software maintenance provides many great benefits.  Up-to-date computing, ease of administration, and cost, are among these advantages.  It is not only necessary, but crucial to enroll software licenses in these maintenance programs.

Software maintenance is a simple idea.  When you purchase a software license, you also have the ability to buy “software assurance” with it.  Software assurance guarantees the customer the most current version of the product for up to two years.  If a new version of a product is released during this span, your license is automatically upgraded, keeping your business on the cutting edge of technology.  Once the enrollment term has expired, you simply re-purchase “software assurance” within 90 days, and you have another two years of current versions.  Those who choose not to purchase maintenance will have to purchase licenses at full cost when they choose to upgrade.  Customers who enrolled their current licenses in software maintenance during the “grace period” (Oct. ’01-July ’02) will certainly save money, as well as remain current.  However, those who did not take advantage of software maintenance during the transition will be required to purchase a full license when they choose to upgrade.  It is recommended that these customers then purchase “software assurance” with the new licenses.

Though the “grace period” Microsoft had offered (Oct. ’01-July ’02) may have provoked confusion, licensing has grown much simpler due to the transition.  Time spent on administration has been reduced because of this.  The procedure is simple. Just maintain Software Assurance on all your licenses, and you will remain current at all times.  Your licenses will be stored on Microsoft’s website (https://eopen.microsoft.com).  All licenses for your organization can be maintained under a single profile, eliminating the possibility of the licenses being lost or stolen.

It may seem costly to purchase a full license and software maintenance when you buy new products.  However, the amount spent is much cheaper in the long run when compared to version upgrades.  Under the old program, you may have purchased the license, and looked to upgrade a year or so later, at which point a version upgrade would need to be purchased.  Under the maintenance program, you purchase the license and “software assurance” upfront, and your license is automatically upgraded whenever a new version is released.  This will be at no additional cost to you¹.  Also, “software assurance” is generally cheaper than version upgrades had been in the past.  You may even get multiple upgrades to a license during your software assurance enrollment term, adding to the value.  Software maintenance also allows you to maintain a budget, and forecast software spending costs for years into the future.

All things considered, software maintenance offers many more benefits than past licensing programs.  If you are looking to stay current, as well as save time and money, remember “software assurance” on your next order.

¹The purchase of a new media kit may be required to install the new version.

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