Evaluating the many options available for Volume Licensing may be very time consuming. This note simplifies the decision-making process without asking IT managers to rely on software resellers, who may not fully understand the enterprise's needs.
To determine which Volume License agreement is appropriate, small enterprises must:
- Assess the value of Software Assurance (SA). This is central to the licensing program decision, since SA is mandatory with some programs, but optional with others.
- Determine a licensing personality. Many factors are at play, including eligibility requirements, software upgrade and migration plans, the enterprise's growth projections, and the overall IT strategy.
- Map this personality to the different program types. Info-Tech's interactive Excel-based tools and decision matrices help simplify this decision.
- Understand the subtle differences within each plan type. After deciding which program type is appropriate, there are many nuances to each program that are important to understand as well.
The majority of the information here is universally applicable; however, this note is written primarily with North American corporate entities in mind. Microsoft also offers unique agreements to non-profit, educational, and governmental organizations (these are discussed only peripherally in this note).