Feature Article
What is Core Infrastructure Optimization?
An optimized datacenter delivers services that are more efficient, more reliable, and more closely aligned to the changing needs of your business. Microsoft has a set of products and technologies that can help you optimize your datacenter and get more value out of your existing datacenter resources. These products and technologies are now available as a single license, the Enrollment for Core Infrastructure, providing you with the server platform, server management, and server protection you need to deliver more efficient, reliable, and flexible datacenter services.
What is the Enrollment for Core Infrastructure?
The Enrollment for Core Infrastructure (ECI) helps you easily acquire the foundation for a protected, well-managed IT infrastructure. ECI offers a cost-efficient way to license the Windows® Server operating system, Microsoft® System Center server management, and Microsoft ForefrontTM Client Security together in a single per-processor license. Contact your En Pointe Account Executive today to learn what products are included and what the benefits are to your organization.
Learn More
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Promotions
Please be sure to check www.MicrosoftIncentives.com for a complete listing of Microsoft sales offers.
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Forefront Online Protection for Exchange |
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As a limited time offer from October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010, Open Value, Open Value Subscription, Select, Select Plus, Campus and School Agreement and Enterprise Agreement customers are eligible to acquire User Subscription Licenses (USLs) and Device Subscription Licenses (DSLs) for Forefront Online Protection for Exchange at potential savings.
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Office Communications Server Standard CAL and Core CAL |
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Offer: Customers who are renewing or purchasing the Core CAL (include standalone Core CAL, Professional Desktop, Professional Desktop with Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP)) can receive up to 50% discount on the Office Communication Server (OCS) Standard CAL license and software assurance price if purchases at the same time.
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Description: Customers who are renewing or purchasing the Core CAL (include standalone Core CAL, Professional Desktop, Professional Desktop with MDOP) |
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Programs: Open Value, Select, Select Plus, Select Local, Enterprise Agreement, Enterprise Subscription Agreement, Worldwide Government Partner, Campus, School |
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Promotion Dates: August 1, 2010 – December 31, 2010 |
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VDI Standard Suite Joint Citrix Promotion |
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This offer includes Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Standard Suite subscription and Citrix XenDesktop VDI Edition annual license. Customers with Microsoft Core Client Access License (Core CAL) or Enterprise Client Access License (ECAL) Suites with Software Assurance in one of the eligible programs are eligible for this offer. The discount is limited up to 20% of Core CAL or Enterprise CAL covered desktops or 250 devices, whichever is less.
Discount: Eligible customers will receive an approximate up to 70% discount off the estimated retail price on Microsoft VDI Standard Suite subscription license and a up to 50% discount on Citrix XenDesktop VDI Edition annual license from their reseller of choice.
Microsoft VDI Standard Suite subscription is valid until termination of VL agreement or maximum of 3 years. Citrix XenDesktop VDI Edition annual license is valid for one year. Customer to purchase same quantity of Citrix XenDesktop VDI Edition SKU from Citrix reseller at promotional discount. Go to http://www.citrixandmicrosoft.com for more details.
Eligibility: Core CAL or ECAL with active SA
Program(s): Open Value, Select, Select Plus, Select Local, Enterprise Agreement, Enterprise Subscription Agreement, Campus & School Agreements
Promotion Dates: July 1, 2010 – December 31, 2010
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Windows 7 Professional – Student Select Promotion |
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Offer: This promotion provides substantial savings on Student Select licenses for Windows 7 Professional.
Eligibility: Active agreement in one of the eligible programs
Program(s): Select, Select Plus (Academic Student Offer only)
Promo Dates: July 1, 2010 – August 31, 2010
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Product Announcements
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First Windows Intune™ Demos Released |
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Microsoft Windows Intune™ (www.windowsintune.com) is a new solution that brings together cloud services for PC management and malware protection, a Windows® 7 upgrade subscription, and the Microsoft® Desktop Optimization Pack. Leverage the power of Windows cloud services and Windows 7 to grow your business while providing greater value to your customers at a lower cost to you.
View our early product demos and learn how simple it is for Windows Intune™ to help you centrally manage and secure PCs through the Web-based console utilizing Microsoft cloud technologies.
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Software Assurance. Discover what it can do for your organization |
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Learn about the Benefits including new products, deployment, training, support and more! Go to http://www.microsoft.com/softwareassurance. Microsoft designed this site to help Microsoft Volume Licensing customers evaluate, purchase, and use Software Assurance.
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New Program/Product Offerings Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 |
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Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite will be available on the September 1, 2010 price lists. The licensing of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite remains consistent with Windows HPC Server 2008, with a few enhancements. The Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 will be available in two editions: A freely redistributable, feature limited, Express edition and an Enterprise edition that includes additional premium functionality. Additionally the Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise will include the ability to add Windows 7 desktops as part of a new feature for creating clusters of workstations. See details below for more information.
HPC Pack 2008 R2 “Enterprise” is the next version for HPC Pack 2008.
Please note: The Product Family remains “HPC Pack” and SKUs will indicate Enterprise (Ent) or “for Workstation” (forWrksttn) in the description. Customers with active software assurance as of September 1, 2010 have the option to migrate to HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise or HPC Pack 2008 R2 for Workstation. Please see the Product List for details.
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 “Suite” is the next version for Windows HPC Server 2008.
Please note: The Product Family remains “Windows HPC Server” and SKUs will indicate Suite (Ste) in the description.
Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC edition is the next version for Windows Server 2008 HPC edition.
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Exchange Server 2010 |
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Achieving New Levels of Reliability and Performance with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 with significant advances in our technologies and services and Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010, you can achieve new levels of reliability and performance while controlling the cost and complexity of delivering a business class e-mail solution. Exchange Server 2010 helps lower IT costs with cost-effective storage options, enables the mobile workforce with rich mobile access to their entire inbox, and manages the risks of costly exposure with expanded information control and archiving.
Contact your Account Executive today, or email us
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Windows 7 |
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Windows® 7 Professional and Microsoft® Office 2007 Professional Plus work the way you want, so you can get more done and safeguard your work. Save 20 percent on Microsoft Office 2007 for a limited time. We can help you meet the current economic challenges and be prepared for future growth.
Contact your Account Executive today, or email us |
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Strategic Pricing Changes |
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System Center Server Management Suite – Enterprise and Datacenter
We are excited to announce that two important new server management capabilities will be available through purchasing Server Management Suite Enterprise (SMSE) and Server Management Suite Datacenter (SMSD) licenses.
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System Center Service Manager is a new component of SMSE & SMSD. Service Manager will allow you to improve datacenter service availability and performance by integrating incident and problem management with operational tools—all aimed at simplifying your processes, reducing downtime, and improving the reliability of your datacenter environment. When Service Manager becomes generally available, customers licensed for the SMSE or SMSD will receive the Service Manager Server ML as part of their active Software Assurance coverage.
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Opalis was acquired by Microsoft in December 2009 and Opalis software will be granted by the Opalis subsidiary to any new or existing SMSE or SMSD license with active Software Assurance coverage as of December 10, 2009. Opalis delivers IT process automation capabilities, including task orchestration across systems, standardization of processes, automation of repetitive tasks, and integrates with System Center and many third-party tools.
SMSE and SMSD remain the simple, flexible, and cost-effective way to acquire System Center’s existing and new server management capabilities for both non-virtualized and virtualized servers. SMSE is designed to be most appropriate for non-virtualized servers or low density virtual hosts with four or fewer virtual machines. SMSD is licensed per processor and is appropriate for high density virtual hosts with more than four virtual machines. As part of the new capabilities available through the purchase of the suites, pricing will be increased effective August 1, 2010. SMSE will increase by approximately 31% and SMSD will increase by approximately 75%. |
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Core Infrastructure Server Suites (for ECI) – Price Changes |
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Effective August 1, 2010, there will be two changes that will impact the pricing of the Core Infrastructure Server Suites available in the Enrollment for Core Infrastructure program.
First, the Core Infrastructure Server Suites prices are being adjusted to reflect a simple, flat 20% discount from the stand-alone purchases. This will simplify the discounts across the skus and purchase scenarios as well as simplify the messaging to our partners and end customers. This impacts the Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter editions. Second, the System Center Service Manager 2010 Server Management License has been added to the Server Management Suite Enterprise (SMSE) and Server Management Suite Datacenter (SMSD) licenses which will increase in price on August 1st 2010. SMSE and SMSD customers will also have access to Opalis software via a grant from the Opalis subsidiary. The Core Infrastructure Server Suites Enterprise and Datacenter, available through the Enrollment for Core Infrastructure, include SMSE/D and will therefore include the Service Manager Server ML as well as qualify for the Opalis grant.
All ECI customers with the Core Infrastructure Server Suites Enterprise and Datacenter will have the rights to System Center Service Manager 2010 through Software Assurance, and receive a grant for Opalis the same as customers that purchase SMSE/D outside of the ECI. (The Opalis software use rights will be granted to all SMSE and SMSD licenses with active SA coverage from December 10th, 2009 onward.) Customers that purchase ECI before the price increase will lock in pricing for the term of their EA. |
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End-Of-Life Notifications
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Upcoming Support Lifecycle Transition Dates for Windows Client and Windows Server |
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Windows 2000 Server & Professional and Windows XP Service Pack 2 will reach end of support July 13th, 2010. Also Windows Vista RTM (the original version without any service packs installed) will reach end of support April 13th, 2010. As part of this retirement, Microsoft will not release new updates – including security updates – and customers will not be able to obtain product support from Microsoft.
Review the status of your servers and PCs. if they are running any of the mentioned Operating Systems, Microsoft recommends you take the following actions:
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For Windows 2000 Server and Professional: Systems running these Operating Systems should be migrated to Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. Visit http://support.microsoft.com/win2000 for more details.
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For Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista RTM: Microsoft recommends upgrading to Windows 7. For those PCs not ready to move to Windows 7, the latest service pack should be installed: Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista SP2. Visit http://windows.microsoft.com/eos for more details.
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Expression Professional Subscription – End of Life |
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With the release of Expression Studio 4, Microsoft will be discontinuing the sale of new licenses of Expression Professional Subscription (EPS), and will not be accepting renewals of existing EPS subscriptions. Existing customers will continue to receive their subscription benefits until the subscription expires, including Expression Studio 4 Ultimate, the latest version of Expression Studio 3.
Microsoft is discontinuing the Expression Professional Subscription as the majority of our customers prefer to either purchase Expression products without a subscription, or acquire Expression via an MSDN subscription included with a Visual Studio purchase.
We realize that some volume licensing customers purchased EPS because it was the only way to acquire Expression Studio 3 with Software Assurance. Expression Studio 4 Ultimate is now available for purchase with Software Assurance, but existing EPS Volume Licensing customers who are willing to wait until October will be able to purchase Expression Studio 4 Ultimate for an approximate 50% discount off of Open, Select and Enterprise License & Software Assurance prices.
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Select License End of Sales Announcement |
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Beginning July 1, 2011, Microsoft will no longer sell new Select License Agreements. Customers can choose between Select License and Select Plus until this date. Select customers can choose to migrate to Select Plus during this time and maintain their current Select price level. Existing Select License customers can continue to renew their Select License Agreement after this date.
What should you do?
For an overview of this licensing change, a program comparison, and information on migrating to Select Plus contact your En Pointe Account Executive or teammicrosoft@enpointe.com |
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Software Assurance Update on Employee Purchase Program Retirement |
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Microsoft will retire the Microsoft will retire the Microsoft Software Assurance Employee Purchase Program (EPP) in November 2010. EPP was first introduced in 2003, and its customer use has gradually declined. For all Software Assurance customers eligible for EPP, the number of individual product licenses purchased on average by organizations is less than one. In addition, the vast majority of product licenses purchased are for Microsoft® Office, making up 90 percent of the EPP orders today. During the same timeframe the Home Use Program (HUP) for Microsoft Office has provided millions of organizations' employees with Office at home via a convenient download service, providing Microsoft Office at cost recovery at around $10 per employee (local currency pricing varies). We believe this offers your employees an easier and more affordable program for using Microsoft Office at home.
Retirement Steps
EPP will continue to be available between now and November 2010, with the current range of products and the Windows® 7 operating system. From April 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010 the Windows 7 operating system products in EPP will be available at a 10% reduced rate of standard EPP pricing, as a one-time offer. Starting in June 2010, the Home Use Program will upgrade to include the latest version of Office - Office 2010 Professional Plus, while Office 2007 SKUs will remain available through EPP.
Recommended Steps
If your organization actively uses EPP, we recommend that you notify your employees so that they can use EPP as needed before November 2010. We also recommend you evaluate using the Home Use Program for providing Microsoft Office to your employees. You can find further details on the HUP site at http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/software-assurance/home-use-program.aspx.If you have any questions about EPP retirement or using HUP, please contact your Microsoft representative.
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Microsoft's Support Lifecycle |
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Policy provides consistent and predictable guidelines for product support availability at the time...
Click to view online |
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