Microsoft has extended its Enterprise Agreement offering to include two additional enrollments, the Core Infrastructure Enrollment and the Application Platform Enrollment, before I go into detail regarding each program I want you to keep in mind that the secret of achieving great results negotiating with Microsoft is understanding the entire spectrum of the Licensing agreements available and building a “customized set of agreements” that will best meet your needs and budget. My experience with the EAP agreement has been excellent and I have achieved 20-30 percent cost savings when licensing SQL in an Application Platform Enrollment compared to a standard EA.
Both new programs can be licensed as:
- A new enrollment (no need to have an existing Enterprise Agreement for Desktops)
- Added at mid-term to an existing Enterprise Agreement
- Added to an EA at renewal
Microsoft Enrollment for Core Infrastructure (ECI)
The ECI offer includes a licensing solution that integrates Windows® Server operating system, Microsoft® System Center server management, and Microsoft Forefront Client Security together in a simple per-processor license.
The offering covers three Suites
- Data Center Suite - supports an unlimited number of virtualized instances
- Enterprise Suite – supports up to four instances on a two-processor server.
- Standard Suite - supports only one virtualized instance per processor
Benefits of the ECI
- Simplified licensing. By licensing these suites per processor licensing management compliancy should be simplified.
- Lower cost. Microsoft claims that the ECI should save customers 13 to 29 percent off purchasing the product licenses individually. As this is a very general claim I suggest performing a financial benchmark with a standard licensing solution and validating this claim in accordance to your organizations needs
Microsoft Enrollment for Application Platform (EAP)
The EAP offer includes a licensing solution for any one of following products:
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Microsoft BizTalk Server
- Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (no CALs)
- Microsoft Visual Studio
How does the agreement work?
1. Select the products you want:
- Choose One or more products with minimum initial purchase requirement*
- Establish your initial requirements based on your current install base.
- 100 percent Software Assurance coverage on all included products
2. Receive the latest version of products:
- Included products only.
- Price of license deferred indefinitely on units not covered by Software Assurance on your initial coverage, as long as you remain in the program.
3. Deploy unlimited incremental units:
- New incremental units receive price savings on license cost.
- True up annually or at the end of your three-year term.
4. Choose the best True up option: choice of One-Year True-up or Three-Year True-up
Benefits of the EAP
- Lowering up-front costs – deferred license cost for units that were not covered by Microsoft Software Assurance at the time of enrolling in the program.
- Lower cost. Microsoft claims that the EAP should save customers up to 40 percent off purchasing the product licenses individually. I have worked with customers on moving SQL licensing from a standard EA renewal to an EAP and the end results have been excellent with savings of 20-30 percent compared to standard licensing
- Flexible licensing model – choice of One-Year True-up or Three-Year True-up
* Please refer to Microsoft’s program overview for exact requirements http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/licensing-options/enrollments.aspx
One of the most valuable Software Assurance benefits available from Microsoft is the cold back-up for disaster recovery licenses.
Volume Licensing customers have some flexibility in how they can deploy Windows 7 in their organizations.
‘Negotiating with Microsoft’ by Daryl Ullman is now available as a Ebook.
