When I set out to write a series on Microsoft software licensing, I never expected there to be a total of nine posts.

For those who missed the others, they were:

1. Client and server.
2. Licensing without CALs.
3. Server products.
4. System Center products.
5. Virtualisation.
6. Forefront security products.
7. How to buy Microsoft software.
8. Software Assurance.

In this final post in the series, I’ll provide some useful links to Microsoft software licensing resources.

To start off with, there’s the Microsoft Licensing Reseller Handbook – intended for partners but publicly available and packed with links.

For those interested in volume licensing, the Microsoft Volume Licensing Reference Guide is intended for customers and explains the various options that are available.

Next up, there’s Emma (Lady Licensing)’s Licensing and Software Asset Management blog… which has a stack of information but I do find it a little odd that almost the first thing you read on the site is a notice that shouts “DO NOT COPY CONTENT WITHOUT MY EXPRESS PERMISSION” when the whole point is about sharing information (try Creative Commons) and much of that information appears to be a direct copy and paste from information provided by her employer (Microsoft)!

Other links that might be useful include:

• How to buy and license your Microsoft software.
• The Microsoft Licence Advisor.
• How to tell if your media is genuine (Microsoft’s Michala Alexander has also produced an anti-piracy video with channel partner Blue Solutions).

If you have a licensing query and it’s not covered in any of the links here, call Microsoft – for UK customers the number is 0870 60 10 100.

Finally, I mentioned in the first post that this series has been based on information from a TechNet presentation at Microsoft UK – thanks to Jackie Elleker at Microsoft UK for presenting the information in a way that even I could understand – and for answering my many questions. Jackie has also produced a short video with Blue Solutions in which she explains many of the key points of Microsoft Licensing – including payment options.

In my earlier post on how to buy Microsoft software, I mentioned Software Assurance (SA).

SA includes upgrade rights for all software released during the period of the agreement along with a number of additional benefits. Purchased as part of a volume license agreement or on an individual product, SA is a contraversial subject – Microsoft will highlight the many advantages that it offers to customers, whereas IT Managers will often question its value.

Unless included within the terms of an Open Value License or Enterprise Agreement, SA costs between 25 and 29% of the accompanying license price and, although it can be renewed, it ends when the accompanying agreement terminates. An ROI tool is available to help assess the likely financial benefits of SA but the trouble with software is that it’s a bit like the proverbial London Bus – you wait years for a new release and then they all come along at once…

For an IT Manager, this may mean that they don’t percieve their SA as having provided much benefit (e.g. if they didn’t see many new releases during the period of their agreement) but it can also work the other way. For example, I know of at least one Microsoft customer that has not resigned their EA because in the last few years they have gained the rights to upgrade their desktop from XP to Vista, their Office productivity suite from Office 2003 to 2007, their server infrastructure from Windows Server 2003 R2 to 2008 and to perform a number of server application upgrades (Exchange Server 2003 to 2007, Live Communications Server 2005 to Office Communications Server 2007, SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to Office SharePoint Server 2007, Systems Management Server 2003 to System Center Configuration Manager 2007, Operations Manager 2005 to System Center Operations Manager 2007, etc.). Now they have the right to use all of that software so they have their infrastructure upgrades for the next few years “in the bag” and see no reason to resign the EA. That’s not good for Microsoft, but very good for my anecdotal customer.

The full list of SA benefits, at each stage in the lifecycle, includes:

There exact benefits that are available depend on the volume licensing agreement in place and an SA benefits comparison chart is available for download.

One of the major benefits for corporate users with Select or Enterprise agreements is the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP). This contains five additional technologies: Microsoft Application Virtualization (formerly Softricity SoftGrid); Microsoft System Center Desktop Error Monitoring; Microsoft Asset Inventory Service (formerly AssetMetrix); Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (formerly Winternals Administator’s Pak); and Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management (formerly DesktopStandard GPOVault).

MDOP is a big pull for many organisations – particularly the Application Virtualization element – but it is a subscription service which means that when the accompanying volume license agreement ends so does the right to use the MDOP tools.

For many, a crystal ball would be useful when deciding if SA is appropriate – it all depends on how an organisation’s roadmap is aligned with new product releases and consequentially whether the benefits of SA will actually be of use. My view is that there are some substantial benefits available – and I’d suggest that the MDOP benefits might actually help to reduce operational costs and therefore finance the SA.

In the final part of this series on software licensing, I’ll summarise the eight posts so far and provide links to further information.