Understanding Volume Licensing
Some of the feedback from Partners who attending the Small Business Forum last month was that although OEM was the license of choice for now, there was a clear willingness to want to understand how to better adopt volume licensing.
It’s not always the easiest to understand and those who have been chatting to me about it in the last few weeks will agree that not everyone who sells/recommends it necessarily understands the finer points either.
So, here’s where you might want to start if you want to get your head around it that bit better:
Volume Licensing Programmes Comparison Chart (.pdf document about 13MB) - zoom in about 150% to read it! If you can find a cleaner version then please let me know so I can update this link.
Microsoft’s Volume Licensing Home Page
Inside Licensing (webcasts for Small- and Medium-sized businesses)
You may also want to make sure that you’re in the queue for the latest edition of Gear Up which acts as a great point of reference when you need to quickly look up something about Microsoft licensing or their product range. In fact, I’ve heard it makes a good accompaniment to the reading literature many keep in their loos.
It even includes information on Windows Server 2008 which will help ready you and your staff (if you have the latter). You can make sure there’s a copy with your name on by clicking here.
And if you want to step it up a gear and understand a bit more about processor licenses, “Cold” server backup for DR under Software Assurance, Terminal Server licensing, or even transferring licences then click here.
For those considering SPLA, have a look at this document (86kb) which gives an overview for Managed Service Providers to understand the opportunity better. You can also check out here which is Microsoft’s official site. Don’t forget, there are a few Partners in the Community already practicing SPLA so why not ask them how it suits them?
Licensing Handbook for MS Resellers