We got a Software Assurance letter reminding me that SA on several of our server products would be running out in the next 6 months. Two of the products are Windows Server Standard and Exchange Standard and I thought wouldn't it be great if I could upgrade those licenses to Enterprise versions.
The difference between products seems to become more critical between version upgrades of Microsoft products, since with each version there seems to be more differentiating factors between levels. Like standard and enterprise versions of Windows and Exchange. So, with more releases of a product, your business may grow and the feature set of the premium enterprise product will grow, making the enterprise product more appealing.
I called Microsoft Volume Sales at 800-426-9400, to see if there was a way to upgrade to the higher end version and keep some of my investment, without throwing out a whole license. I got a real helpful gentleman who told me that there was a "Step-Up" license, which allows us to upgrade certain products. He pointed me to the Product Use Rights (PUR) document and said that would give me the details. After researching this and the "Step-Up Licenses Brief" it turns out that the Step-Up program was only available if I had SA and I were under a "Enterprise Agreement, Select License, and Open License Value customers have the option to acquire a Step-up License on or after the renewal of their previous agreements." So I called Microsoft Volume Sales to verify my facts and make sure that I wasn't missing anything. Well, it turns out that this is true. Organizations that buy Open Business, Charity, Academic, or Government with Software Assurance, don't get some of the same benefits as other licensing programs. I asked who I could send an email to in regards to this situation and she told me that I could send an e-mail to mswish@microsoft.com for any kind of want or suggestion.
So I am composing an e-mail and will give Microsoft my 2 cents on this issue. It seems to me like Microsoft should make the Open License Program a perpetual license only and a Software Assurance less program for businesses, governments or charities. Meaning that like retail, if you buy a license for that product, you can use it as long as you want, but without upgrade assurance. If you want Software assurance then you will be directed to an expanded Microsoft Open Value program, which would be open to governments, academics, and charities, in addition to businesses. This would give organizations better value for their SA benefits, such as the ability to spread payments over the 3 year lifespan of MSOV agreement.
Sorry about the long post, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Why would it take FOUR hours on the phone with Microsoft. Why does it always take so long???
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