Windows OS – OEM Reimaging Rights – Licensing and Techie Update

I thought it would be good to post this exchange on OEM Licensing as we have made some changes to the rules for our partners and also its a very common question that we get through the call centres, I have tried to give the complete picture, licensing and technology as they are so synergised these days its good to see the full story -

Let me start with what you can do with a Windows OEM License:
• You can work with an OEM to create an Custom Factory Image (CFI): the OEM can create an Image from their OEM toolkit and then use their Software Factory Integration service to install onto all your PCs at their factory prior to delivery. This type of reimaging service is available on most OEM business PCs and/or royalty OEMs – e.g. PCs installed with Windows 7 Professional.
• This can be done without any need for a Volume License for Windows.

If you also have a Volume License, there is more flexibility:
• The Volume License for Windows is an Upgrade License – for use on top of the OEM License (usually Windows Professional pre-installed).
• With a VL Windows License you can customize the image yourself or ask the OEM to customize to your specification. The OEM still supplies you with a PC that has the underlying OEM License attached to the PC (this is shown by the “Certificate of Authenticity” (COA) label on the back of a desktop PC or bottom of a laptop.
• Customers can take advantage of customizing Windows Enterprise Edition if they have Software Assurance – which offers more features than Windows Professional (such as disk drive encryption – BitLocker).
• Reimaging rights are granted to all Microsoft Volume Licensing (VL) customers as part of the license agreement(s), customers may reimage OEM Operating systems by using the media provided under their VL agreement, such as EA or Select Plus/Select.

You can reimage an OEM Operating system with VL bits as long as you meet the criteria set out in the brief attached – posted – HERE

Note that there are no reimaging rights for OEM Office unless there is Software Assurance on the PC.

In addition you can find good  Windows product licensing information on this section of Microsoft.com/licensing

Plus there is also a VL Brief regarding Windows re-imaging rights HERE, and a detailed technical/licensing whitepaper on the points above on HERE

Select Plus – Some Changes………….

 

So, I covered Select Plus Agreement quite a while back when we first launched the program, full article on HERE

Short recap below

Select Plus is the new program launching in the UK on October 1st 2008,  its a new offering designed for customers in the 250PC space who want:

• Single, company-wide purchasing agreement and pricing,
• Central reporting, SA and license management,
• No agreement expiration,
• Renewal and Automatic tiered discounting based on company-wide purchase volume with no forecasting
• An Increase in value of SA by eliminating impact of purchasing timing, pro-ration

Since launch we have been gaining momentum with customers moving and renewing from Select to Select Plus, the fact that the agreement is perpetual and doesn’t end seems to be a winner for a lot of folks who don’t enjoy the paperwork every 3yrs, we did run into some feedback around the upfront point minimums, so as of 16th Aug 2010, the INITIAL 500 point requirement for new Select Plus Agreements is waived

Now that the initial 500 point requirement is waived, you have up to 12 months to reach the 500 point min in each pool to remain active

When you sign up to a Select Plus Agreement all your pools will open up at least to Level A, the more you buy the better price level you get and we adjust this automatically which means you get the better price at order

What if I have a Select Agreement, can I renew into Select Plus?

Yes, and the Price level for the new Select Plus becomes the same price level as the old Select Agreement Note: As a bonus any pools not activated on the Select Agreement become active on Select Plus at Level A

What happens if I don’t meet the 500 points per pool?

If you don’t meet the 500 points over the 12month period then you go on hold, you would need to place an order for 500 points or more to get off hold onto Level A again.

Update – Extension to Open Value Subscription Up to Date Discount

 

 

Starting Jan 1st 2010, we will run a promotion for our SMB customers both commerical and government to extend theOpen Value Subscription Up to Date <UTD> to N-2 products up until 30th June 2010

 

In addition to the up-to-date discount of up to 50 percent savings on the first annual payment for estimated retail prices of existing desktop platform product licenses of the current (N) version (Office Professional 2007, Office Professional Plus 2007, Office Small Business 2007, Office Standard 2007, and Windows 7 Professional) or previous (N-1) version (Office Professional 2003, Office Small Business 2003, Office Standard 2003, and Windows Vista Business)

Customers who sign a new Open Value Subscription or Open Value Subscription for Government agreement will also receive the up-to-date discount on N-2 versions of existing desktop platform licenses (Office Professional XP, Office Small Business XP, Office Standard XP, and Window XP Professional).

 

Products Included in promotion

Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007, Microsoft Office Small Business 2007, and the Windows 7 Professional operating system  

 

Open Value includes Software Assurance and is a non-perpetual offering 

 

Little bit of info on Software Assurance

Microsoft Software Assurance for Volume Licensing provides upgrades, new versions of software, and technical support to customers. Software Assurance benefits vary with each Volume Licensing program. In addition, server licenses come with benefits that are different from those for desktop licenses. Software Assurance is included for every license acquired through Open Value Subscription and Open Value Subscription for Government.  

 

Make sure you meet the eligibility Requirements

Customers who sign a new Open Value Subscription or Open Value Subscription for Government agreement and have an existing license for one of the following products:

Microsoft Office Professional 2003 (N-1)

Microsoft Office Professional 2007 (N)

Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007 (N)

Microsoft Office Professional XP (N-2)

Microsoft Office Small Business 2003 (N-1)

Microsoft Office Small Business 2007 (N)

Microsoft Office Small Business XP (N-2)

Microsoft Office Standard 2003 (N-1)

Microsoft Office Standard 2007 (N)

Microsoft Office Standard XP (N-2)

Windows 7 Professional (N)

Windows Vista Business operating system (N-1)

Windows XP Professional operating system (N-2)

 

 

And remember:

Every 2007 Microsoft Office system license covered by Software Assurance includes rights to the same edition of Microsoft Office 2010 upon its release. 

Windows 7 availability on Employee Purchase Program – EPP

 

Firstly, an apology for the lack of blog posts, I have been recovering from a nasty bout of flu!!!!!

Secondly, a BIG shout out to all the people who came to my session<s> yes, 2, at TechED Berlin, I got to meet a lot of you there and hopefully you had as much fun as me the feedback was really good and positive and I know a lot of you are secretly converted when it comes to licensing…..hehe

Thirdly, I will get to the point soon, thank you to ALL the partners who attended the UK Partner Roadshow last week, the feedback was excellent, and the copies of Win 7 I promised you will be arriving soon………….

Now, to some really really good news for our Software Assurance customers, Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate will soon be available to purchase at a discount via the EPP

What will be available via EPP:
•         Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate
•         Both full SKU and upgrade SKU

Availability – the products are being processed through operations and are expected to become available on the EPP ordering system during December, so get ordering………….

 

Next time………………a first look at SQL Server R2 SKU and Licensing

New Enrolment for Enterprise Agreement Customers – Enrolment for Application Platform – EAP

Part 2 focuses on EAP, also due for launch on Oct 1st 2009 and also available to customers with new or existing Enterprise Agreements

What is EAP?

The Microsoft Application Platform is an integrated and interoperable set of mission-critical server infrastructure, applications, and tools that help organizations to reduce operations costs, improve business flexibility, and increase productivity for all—developers, users, and administrators.

The Enrolment for Application Platform is for customers that want to simplify licensing, reduce costs, accelerate deployment, and manage their application platform more efficiently. The EAP is the most flexible and cost-efficient way for customers to adopt and standardize on the Application Platform.

Customers can license all or any one of the included products, Software Assurance is an integral part of both EAP and ECI

EAP is NOT just SQL!

What is available in EAP?

Benefits of EAP

• Standardization made affordable
  • • Low upfront costs so that you can take advantage of the latest product innovations
• Savings on new deployments of up to 40% on license costs
  • • Rapidly adopt the latest technology
• Helps increase IT productivity with Unlimited Problem Resolution Support for eligible customers
  • • Unlimited deployment rights for the Application Platform products across your entire organization
• Flexible purchasing model
  • • Licensing models that meet your purchasing needs
    • Predictable costs with fixed payments for life of the term with the 3-Year True up model

Steps to EAP

Note: You can use existing licenses from Volume Licensing, OEM or ISV on intial baseline/footprint

Contact your Microsoft Partner for more details

New Enrolment for Enterprise Agreement Customers – Enrolment for Core Infrastructure – ECI

On Oct 1st we will launch 2 new Enrolments for our Enterprise Agreement customers

• EAP – Enrolment for Application Platform
• ECI –  Enrolment for Core Infrastructure

 

I want to cover off ECI in this piece, then I will cover EAP

 

What is ECI?

The Enrolment for Core Infrastructure (ECI) is an enrolment within the Enterprise Agreement that enables the purchase of the Infrastructure Server Suites, in essence it is a server “bundle” containing management, OSE and Security as 1 offering, licensed on a per processor basis*

The enrolment has a 3-year term with Software Assurance built in, with flexible payment options

 

Suites available in ECI

 

• The Standard edition allows you to run and manage up to one OSE
• The Enterprise edition lets you run, manage, and secure up to 4 OSEs on a 2-processor box
• The Datacenter edition allows you to do the same for an unlimited number of OSEs on a 2+ processor box

 

With the Infrastructure Server Suites, you are allowed to a) match your existing deployment to the offering and b) to adapt over time (e.g. as you increase your levels of virtualization), you will be able to migrate from existing standalone SKUs using special ECI SKUs from Nov 1st

 

Simplified Licensing

These offerings are sold per-processor so as to simplify licensing across your datacenter, *note that the licensing does not change for Windows Server, you still require Windows Client Access Licenses <CALs> either through Core CAL, Enterprise CAL Suite or standalone

 

Is ECI suitable for you?

Check List

 

Note: You do not need to have a Desktop Enrolment in place under the EA to be eligible for ECI, you only need to sign an Enterprise Agreement

Note: The cost savings over purchasing the standalone products ranges from 13% to 29%.

Note: Min Proc count is 100 mixed or 40 DC Procs

 

Contact your partner for more info on this offering

Some Great new Volume Licensing Resources

 

Sales Guides for SMB

 

Open Value value proposition Introduction

This agreement is ideal for organisations with up to 750 PCs allowing for natural growth without the organisation needing to change agreement or partner.

 

Open Licence value proposition Introduction

This two year agreement simplifies budgeting by fixing the price banding of licences, for the duration of the agreement term, from the initial date of the sale.

 

Open Value Subscription value proposition Introduction

This three year agreement enables companies with up to 750 PCs to rent Microsoft Software creating one of the most flexible licensing options available.

 

Sales Guides for LORG

 

Enterprise Agreement Introduction

This three year agreement is ideal for organisations with more than 250 PCs. It provides customers with the right to use the version of Microsoft software they buy forever and allows the structuring of payments by month, quarter, on a bi-annual basis or to a customised timeframe.

 

Select Licence Introduction

This three year agreement is ideal for organisations with more than 250 PCs and features fixed price bandings based on what organisations forecast they will buy over the term of the agreement.

 

Enterprise Subscription Agreement Introduction

This three year agreement is perfect for organisations with more than 250 PCs. It provides a very flexible licensing option allowing organisations to rent Microsoft Software.

 

Select Plus Introduction

A Select Plus agreement is ideal for organisations with more than 250 PCs, the agreement lasts forever and the licences organisations buy through a Select Plus agreement are theirs forever.

Software Assurance – What the experts are saying plus additional benefits you probably didn’t know

 

 

Maximizing Your Microsoft Software Investment

The analysis presented in this white paper reveals the value of Microsoft Software Assurance for Volume Licensing in helping customers reduce and better predict the costs of licensing Microsoft products, and improve the capabilities of their workforce.
Also view the multimedia version online.

 

Microsoft’s Software Assurance Delivers Anywhere Application Services Deployment Tools

This Yankee Group Report details the new deployment planning services and application virtualization licenses available for Microsoft Software Assurance and examines the impact of these services on businesses. It also details how the inclusion of these services within Software Assurance can enable companies to lower their TCO and achieve accelerated and optimal return on investment (ROI).

 

Microsoft Simplifies Its Volume Licensing: Most Companies with Select Agreements Will Benefit by Upgrading to Select Plus

According to this Forrester Research report, "The simpler legal structure and streamlined procurement process make Select Plus a good choice for enterprises that want to receive the full economies of their scale yet retain flexibility for individual business unit buying decisions."

 

Check out my older posting on SA Benefits

 

Plus – Some of the additional benefits of having SA

Ability to buy “Step-Up” Licenses without having to re-buy a new license

• You may migrate from the standard edition to a premium edition of certain products with a Step-Up License for the cost between the L&SA of the std to the premium offering, you do not have to re-buy at the full cost of the premium license
• You must have a license with active upgrade protection coverage for the qualifying product in order to acquire a Step-Up License. 
• The Step-Up License must be acquired, and is valid only when acquired, under the Enterprise or Select enrolment or the Open Value Agreement under which upgrade protection coverage for the qualifying product was originally acquired.
• Your right to the use of this software under a Step-Up license is conditioned on having and retaining a License for the qualifying product. 
• You cannot transfer the License for the qualifying product separately from the Step-Up license.
• Your perpetual rights under the Step-Up License supersede and replace the underlying license for the qualifying product. 

More details in the brief HERE

 

Ability to buy “VECD” – Virtual Enterprise Centralised Desktop for SA

Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop for Software Assurance is the version of Windows designed to help medium and large size organizations deploy Windows using virtualization technology in a network-centralized deployment architecture. 

• Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) for Software Assurance is an optional purchase available only to those customers who have Windows Software Assurance coverage. 
• Eligible customers may acquire VECD for SA for any Windows desktop with active Software Assurance coverage. 
• VECD for SA must be acquired under the same Select or Enterprise or Campus and School Enrolment or Open Value agreement as the corresponding Software Assurance coverage.
• The VECD for SA subscription provides customers the right to run the latest version of the Windows desktop operating system made available during the term of their SA coverage.
• You may move Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop from the licensed device to another licensed device with active Software Assurance coverage acquired under the same Select or Enterprise or Campus and School enrolment or Open Value agreement. 
• You may reassign the Software Assurance coverage corresponding to a VECD for SA license to a replacement device, as permitted under their license agreement, the right to use VECD for SA will apply to that new device. 

More details in the brief HERE

 

Ability to buy “MDOP” – Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack

Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance (MDOP) is an optional purchase available only to those customers who have Software Assurance on their Windows Desktop.  Therefore, customers must have Windows SA coverage for each desktop for which the subscription is licensed. 

What is the ISV Royalty Program?

 
The ISV Royalty Licensing Program offers a convenient way to license Microsoft products, integrate them into a software business application and then replicate the business solution and distribute a fully licensed solution to end users.

As an ISV, you can integrate Microsoft licensed products into your business solution by including one or more Microsoft licensed products along with the software for your unified solution and distributing the solution by either:

• Copying it onto physical media, which is labelled and packaged as your unified solution.
• Pre-installing it on a computer system for distribution as part of your unified solution.

License Type
The ISV Royalty Licensing Program offers perpetual licenses, which are everlasting and valid if the licensed product is being used in accordance with the license-agreement requirements. Microsoft licenses the products to the ISV, not the end user.

The ISV Royalty License and Distribution Agreement is 3year, non-renewable. At the end of your three-year agreement term, you must sign a new ISV Royalty License and Distribution Agreement to continue to participate in the program.

Licensing Offerings

The two types of use rights offered are:

• ISV license. This default license type enables you to integrate Microsoft licensed products and for them to be licensed as part of your unified solution. This license also allows your end users to use the underlying Microsoft licensed products with other applications, as long as the Microsoft licensed products are still licensed for your application.

• ISV run-time license. Some licensed products offered through the ISV Royalty Licensing Program are offered with additional restricted-use rights. In these cases, your end users:

1. Can use these applications only with the unified solution with which they were acquired.
2. Cannot use the Microsoft licensed products to run any other applications, to develop new applications, or in any other context independent of the unified solution with which the licenses were acquired.

Software Maintenance Options
End users can upgrade to future product versions by acquiring Embedded Maintenance for a fee. Only new product versions released during the Embedded Maintenance coverage period are included. Licenses must be enrolled in Embedded Maintenance during the same month the license is originally acquired. Coverage can be renewed annually during the agreement term.
Note: End users with licenses enrolled in Embedded Maintenance can obtain the upgrade software through the ISV. End users with licenses not enrolled in Embedded Maintenance who want to upgrade are required to acquire a new license.

 

Enrolling in the ISV Program
To enrol in the ISV Royalty Licensing Program, your organization must meet eligibility requirements <note: Not all conditions are listed below>:

• Develop a unified solution. Develop a value-added unified solution that uses Microsoft licensed products and distribute the unified solution
• Comply with the Microsoft license terms. Incorporate any applicable Microsoft license terms into the end user agreement for the unified solution.
• Sign agreements. Complete the ISV Royalty License and Distribution Agreement, Microsoft Business and Services Agreement/Microsoft Business Agreement (MBSA/MBA), and credit application form (credit form required for direct agreements only).

After you have enrolled, the following are the key steps for participating in the ISV Royalty Licensing Program:

• Integrate the Microsoft licensed products into your software application to create a unified solution.
• Ensure that the required Microsoft license terms are provided to and agreed upon by your end users.
• Sell and report on licenses for the unified solution distributed to your end users.
• Abide by copyright, trademark, and antipiracy obligations.
• Report monthly on software licenses.
• Agree to participate in ISV Royalty Licensing Program audits.
• Comply with export requirements.

Rules around How to Distribute
After Microsoft approves the ISV Royalty License and Distribution Agreement, you can begin distributing Microsoft licensed products as outlined in the agreement.

• The ISV Royalty Licensing Program allows you to distribute Microsoft licensed products as part of a unified solution, not as stand-alone products.
• You are not allowed to lease or rent or offer Microsoft licensed products as a service without a separate agreement with Microsoft…..that would be a SPLA
• Integration of a Microsoft licensed product with your unified solution must include the entire product, not just a portion of the product. Based on the functionality of your unified solution, certain features might not be used (for example, development tools), but the entire Microsoft licensed product must be integrated.
• Although you are allowed to create technically accurate documentation for the unified solution based on the information contained in the help files, the help files contained in the Microsoft licensed product may not be modified. This is to ensure that end users receive the complete Microsoft software package and a consistent end user experience, no matter where or from whom they acquire the software.
• Microsoft does not allow any features to be disabled, so that end users receive fully functional licensed products. In addition, disabling certain features might affect other parts of a licensed product that would be detrimental to it. However, you may configure licensed products in accordance with their software documentation
• If you would like to provide your unified solution as software services, you must sign a Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement – SPLA
• The ISV Royalty Licensing Program allows for worldwide distribution of the unified solution, subject to the United States export laws and subject to certain agreement provisions. Because Microsoft does not control to whom you distribute the unified solution, you are required to have agreements with all third-party business entities to whom you directly provide the unified solution for direct or indirect distribution (and not for sublicense) to end users.

 

Note: The products that are currently offered with run-time use rights are Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft BizTalk Server, and Microsoft Office Communications Server.

Note: Monthly reporting and payment of perpetual licenses are based on actual use from the previous month.

Note: Desktop operating systems, Server operating systems and Microsoft Online Services are not offered through the ISV Royalty Licensing Program.

Changes to Software Assurance 2008/2009

 

We are continually tweaking the benefits in SA to improve the overall offering, Check out the new order websites for the Employee Purchase Program and Home Use Program released in Feb 2009, to help improve your experience with these two SA Benefits.

The Employee Purchase Program order website and the Home Use Program order website enable you to access the products faster and easier—and includes product images, clear product descriptions, better search capabilities, and payment processing with order history.

2 New Packaged Services Offerings

As of November 1, 2008, two new Packaged Services offerings are available. These offerings are designed to help you develop plans that can facilitate implementation and maximize use of Microsoft software:

• Exchange Deployment Planning Services. The Exchange Deployment Planning Services (EDPS) engagement helps guide customers through the deployment planning stages of a Microsoft Exchange Server implementation. Structured engagements are conducted by prequalified Exchange Deployment Planning Services partners who share best practices, analyze organizational requirements, and help create comprehensive deployment and implementation plans.

• Business Value Planning Services. The Business Value Planning Services (BVPS) engagement helps customers identify, unlock, and capture the business value of the Microsoft Office system. Through structured engagements, a prequalified Business Value Planning Services partner works with customers to identify and design improvements to an existing business process using Office system technology.

Note: Both engagements are available in 3-, 5-, 10-, and 15-day service levels. Visit the Deployment Partner Services Portal to learn how you can become certified to offer these new services while increasing your revenue potential and building customer relationships.

 

Enhanced Benefits Features

• The Training Vouchers entitlement has changed for Microsoft Open Value and Microsoft Open Value Subscription program customers. The maximum number of training days has increased from 10 to 20 for Microsoft Office system licenses covered by Software Assurance and from 5 to 10 for Windows desktop operating system licenses covered by Software Assurance. This is the same entitlement as Microsoft Enterprise Agreement program customers with 250 to 2,399 licenses. For a complete list of eligible training days, sorted by Volume Licensing program, see the Training Vouchers section of the most recent Microsoft Product List for Volume Licensing

• Customers who meet eligibility requirements for the Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate operating systems will receive the software in DVD format. The CD option will no longer be available.

• Volume Licensing customers who are eligible for the media kit receive the Microsoft Office Multi-Language Pack 2007 as part of that distribution. As of October 2008, customers with Software Assurance for products in the application pool can download or order physical media for the Office Multi-Language Pack 2007 through the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC). Physical media is available in DVD format only. Download the most recent Microsoft Product List for Volume Licensing to see products in the application pool.

 

Discontinued Benefits

The following benefits are no longer available through Software Assurance.

• Information Work Solution Services. As of May 2008, Information Work Solution Services (IWSS) consulting engagements are no longer available. Instead, Open Value and Open Value Subscription program customers with consulting engagements through the Packaged Services Software Assurance benefit, including Desktop Deployment Planning Services (DDPS),  SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS), Exchange Deployment Planning Services (EDPS), and Business Value Planning Services (BVPS).

• Windows Preinstallation Environment. Updated for the Windows Vista operating system, this benefit is now called Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK), and is available to all customers—at no charge—as a download.

• Microsoft Virtual PC Express. Replaced Virtual PC Express with Microsoft Virtual PC 2007—available at no charge to all customers as a download.

• Microsoft Exchange Server Applications Subscription. Also known as Exchange Intelligent Message Filter,  this server-side tool helps detect and block spam e-mail messages from being sent to users. It is available to all customers as part of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

• Corporate Error Reporting. Retired and granted to all customers who were receiving CER perpetual rights to use this benefit even after their Software Assurance coverage expires. Additionally, Desktop Error Monitoring (DEM) is available to all customers who had an active Software Assurance agreement between July 1, 2007, and December 31, 2007. DEM is a component of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for Software Assurance, which is available as an add-on subscription. The DEM component may be used only on desktop PCs and servers covered by Software Assurance. Customers using this component are subject to the Product Use Rights (PUR) for MDOP and the terms and conditions of their agreements.

 

Check out the new Software Assurance Benefit  video’s below

Organisations with less than 250 PCs

Organisations with more than 250 PCs