Information Work Solution Services consulting engagements will no longer be available as of May 2008. Instead, Open Value and Open Value Subscription customers will be able to take advantage of the consulting engagements offered through the Packaged Services SA benefit, including Desktop Deployment Planning Services (DDPS) and SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS). Through these consulting engagements qualified providers assist customers in getting the most out of the software purchased through their Volume Licensing agreement. These services are based on best practices from Microsoft with the objective of reducing cost and complexity while improving process automation.

Customers meeting the minimum coverage requirements will receive net new Packaged Service days. Those in eligible agreements who have not met the minimum coverage requirements to receive Packaged Service days may convert unused Training Voucher days.

Customers may complete IWSS engagements that have been reserved through a partner prior to April 30th. Any vouchers that have not been used or reserved by that time will be converted back into eligible Training Voucher days.

A new Packaged Services offering, SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS), will be available as of May 2008. SDPS is designed to help organizations plan an effective deployment of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, and includes a broad range of planning tools and services that help optimize the effectiveness of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server's core capabilities, lower the cost of deployment, and improve organizational productivity. Service areas include collaboration, portals, enterprise search, and web and portal content management. En Pointe Technologies as a qualified Microsoft SDPS provider will share best practices, analyze your organizational environment, and provide tools and services that help manage SharePoint implementation and the migration of data.

Microsoft is migrating away from the TechNet Plus Single Server SKU to simplify the offering, and improve reach and satisfaction.. This will result in TechNet Plus Single Server no longer appearing on price lists as of 2/1/2008.

Volume Licensing:

• All active TechNet Plus Single Server subscriptions will run until they naturally expire, per the terms of the VL agreement.
• Registrations of licenses already purchased on VL agreements are to be supported per the terms of the license agreement.

FPP:

• All active TechNet Plus Single Server subscriptions will run until they naturally expire.

Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why has Microsoft chosen to stop selling the TechNet Plus Single Server license?
A. Microsoft is making this change to simplify the TechNet Plus licensing model. Based on customer feedback there has been confusion & misperception related to the license use rights of TechNet Plus Single Server. By simplifying the licensing model it will be easier for customers to manage license compliance.

Q. Without a Server license option my team will now need to purchase multiple licenses, what is the benefit of this?
A. With TechNet Plus Single Server, only the Technical Information Library software is licensed to share on the server. By purchasing a mixture of TechNet Plus Direct or TechNet Plus Single User, you can receive more value from your subscription purchase based on your business needs. Each licensed user will have access to all subscription resources including: an online portal, Full-version Evaluation Software, Managed Newsgroups, eLearning and more.

Q. I place my order before February 1st, but haven't sent in my payment yet. Can I still obtain the Single Server License?
A. Yes, Microsoft will honor orders for TechNet Plus Single Server orders that are pending payment.

Q. I currently have a TechNet Plus Single Server license, how does this change impact me?
A. Your current subscription will not be impacted. You will have the license use rights of a TechNet Plus Single Server license throughout your subscription term. At the end of your subscription you will have the option to renew for one of the offerings available at that time.

Q. I have a TechNet Plus Single Server volume license that I have not yet registered. Can I still register it?
A. Yes, You can register TechNet Plus Single Server licenses any time prior to the last 30 days the term of the license enrollment. To get the most from the subscriptions, licenses should be registered as early as possible.

Q. I purchased TechNet Plus Single Server from my reseller and have a box containing an activation card. Can I still activate my purchase?
A. Yes, You can still activate your purchase of TechNet Plus Single Server at this time. To get the most from your purchase it should be activated as soon as possible.

Digital by Choice is a new approach to offer customers a choice in how they can simplify their media experience, promote environmental awareness around their selection, and reduce the cost of managing physical media. With the robust download functionality now available in the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC), Microsoft has a rich viable alternative to physical media delivery. Microsoft believes customers will want to choose Digital as the default method for software delivery.

This initiative takes a promotion-based approach with a pilot set of Subsidiaries, Channel Partners and Enterprise Agreement customers in a pervasive campaign to elevate CHOICE to customers. Their choice is around simplicity, experience, environmental consciousness, and reducing physical media management costs.

• The pilot offering will include all Commercial EA customers that have not already opted out of physical media. It will not exclude Select enrollments if the customer desires.
• The option to select Digital by Choice will be enabled to all VLSC users.
• This pilot will be run through Quarter 4 (April-July) of the Microsoft Fiscal Year 2008 in the following Subsidiaries:
  • US
  • Canada
  • UK
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Singapore
  • Australia

There is also an added incentive to this campaign; this takes the form of a charitable contribution to any charitable organization chosen by your regional Subsidiary; the contribution will be based on a percentage of customers who have converted to our digital option. The donation will be aligned with any geographical-specific donation policies. Customers will always have the ability to opt back into physical media if they need to.

Dynamics CRM Professional 4.0 will now offer the Server + 5 CALs in addition to the existing Dynamics CRM Professional 4.0 Server standalone offering, effective May 1, 2008. The introduction of this new offering allows a migration path from Dynamics CRM Workgroup edition to the Professional edition in programs where "SA Step Up" SKUs are offered, which includes Open Value, Select and Enterprise Agreement. Customers with current Software Assurance on Dynamics CRM Workgroup 4.0 are eligible to "Step Up" to Dynamics CRM Professional 4.0 by purchasing the appropriate "SA Step Up" to the Professional Server with 5 CAL SKU.

Customers who currently have one of the following:

Example:

• QAA-00190 Dyn CRM Wkgrp Svr Sngl Lic/SA Pack MVL
• QAA-00188 Dyn CRM Wkgrp Svr Sngl SA MVL

May migrate to Professional by purchasing the following SA Step-Up SKU:

• QCA-01286 Dyn CRM Pro Svr Sngl SA Step Up MVL Dynamics CRM Wkgrp Svr 5 Clt This SKU represents the purchase of "Dyn CRM Pro Svr" plus "5 Clt" when migrating from "Dynamics CRM Wkgrp Svr"

Disclaimer: Customers should refer to their agreements for a full understanding of their rights and obligations under Microsoft's Volume Licensing programs. Microsoft software is licensed, not sold. The value and benefit gained through use of Microsoft software and services may vary by customer. Customers with questions about differences between this material and the agreements should contact their reseller or Microsoft account manager

Following the successful launch of Microsoft Expression professional design tools in June 2007, Version 2 of the Expression products are scheduled for release on the June 2008 VL price list. In addition, a new Expression Professional Subscription will be introduced as a new benefit of having Expression Studio with Software Assurance. RTM is scheduled in April 2008.

New features in Expression version 2 include support for Silverlight, .NET Framework 3.5 including ASP.NET 3.5 and ASP.NET AJAX, PHP Web applications and many usability enhancements.

The product availability for Volume License customers include:

• Expression Studio 2
• Expression Blend 2
• Expression Design 2
• Expression Encoder 2
• Expression Media 2
• Expression Web 2

Microsoft is proud to announce the introduction of the Expression Professional Subscription. Similar to MSDN, the Expression Professional Subscription is a benefit of having Expression Studio with Software Assurance. MSDN will continue to target professional developers while the Expression Professional Subscription will include a library of Microsoft and 3rd-party software products intended for use by professional designers and design agencies.

Customers with active Microsoft® Software Assurance coverage for Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition (Itanium Platform) and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (Itanium Platform) as of March 1, 2008 are eligible to receive Windows Server 2008 for Itanium Based Systems. The following provides guidance regarding the Software Assurance Migration path. Windows Server 2008 for Itanium Based Systems is now available to customers with active Software Assurance coverage for Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition (Itanium Platform) as of March 1, 2008.

SA Customers with Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (Itanium Platform) are eligible to upgrade to four processor licenses of Windows Server 2008 for Itanium Based Systems for every Server license of Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (Itanium Platform).

Office 2007 is seeing strong adoption by corporate end users. What's driving adoption is the allure of integrating the Office client software with back-end Office servers, namely SharePoint. Office 2007 is an optimal front-end client for such tasks as document management, collaboration and Unified Communications, according to Forrester Research.

Sysinternal Utilities: One of the best companies that Microsoft purchased was Sysinternals, which was a company that made advanced system utilities that will help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows system and applications. Sysinternal Utilities is now available as one of the components of Desktop Optimization Pack.

It just keeps getting easier! Get the products you need to run your business, and earn valuable partner subsidy dollars to spend on additional services and products.
We're excited to tell you about a great, new offer that covers most of the core products and solutions you need. Now you can get the latest Microsoft® technology along with additional services and products under one simple offer. The Big Easy Offer is the Microsoft Partner subsidy program delivering great value and flexibility for your unique business needs.

Here's how it works
Purchase qualifying products* between February 1, 2008 and June 27, 2008 and earn partner subsidy funds from Microsoft. Then use your subsidy dollars to purchase additional services and products through the qualified Microsoft partner of your choice and enrich your solution.

This program scales to your business, offering incremental subsidies for qualifying purchases. As you purchase more products, you will receive additional subsidy dollars.

Take advantage of this offer by following these simple steps:

1. Purchase
Purchase qualifying products between February 1, 2008 and June 27, 2008.

2. Redeem
After a qualifying purchase, you can redeem the offer at www.microsoftincentives.com/bigeasy until July 31, 2008.

3. Spend
Microsoft will then send you a subsidy check made payable to the partner of your choice; of course, we hope you'll choose to work with us. Use the subsidy check toward the purchase of additional services and products. Services benefits could be deployment, training, assessments or solutions to meet your line of business needs. Additional products may include software and hardware. Checks must be used within 90 days of the issue date.

As a limited time offer from February 1, 2008 through July 31, 2008, Open Value and Select customers are eligible to acquire User Subscription Licenses (USLs), Device Subscription Licenses (DSLs), and Services Subscription Licenses (SSLs) for Forefront Client Security at potential savings.

As a limited time offer from February 1, 2008 through July 31, 2008, Open Value and Select customers who are licensed for Systems Management Server or System Center Configuration Manager 2007 are eligible to acquire User Subscription Licenses (USLs), Device Subscription Licenses (DSLs), and Services Subscription Licenses (SSLs) for Forefront Client Security at greater potential savings. (Customers choosing to acquire licenses under this offer are not eligible for the Competitive Migration offer on the same licenses.) Customers must be licensed for Systems Management Server or System Center Configuration Manager 2007 or be purchasing System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and Forefront Client Security licenses together to be eligible for this offer.

As a limited time offer from July 1, 2007 through April 30, 2008, Open Value, Select, and EA customers who own Forefront Security for Exchange or Antigen for Exchange licenses are eligible to acquire Forefront Security Suite at potential savings.

As a limited time offer from August 1, 2007 through July 31, 2008, Open, Open Value, Select, and Enterprise Agreement customers are eligible for the Microsoft Centralized Application Access CAL Promotion which includes 100 licenses for each of the following products at potential savings:

• Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services CAL
• Whale Intelligent Application Gateway (IAG) 2007 CAL
• SoftGrid Application Virtualization 4.1 CAL for Terminal Services

As a limited time offer from August 1, 2007 through July 31, 2008, Open, Open Value, Select and Enterprise Agreement customers are eligible for the Microsoft Centralized Application Access External Connector Promotion which includes 1 license for each of the following products at potential savings:

• Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services External Connector
• Whale Intelligent Application Gateway (IAG) 2007 External Connector
• SoftGrid Application Virtualization 4.1 External Connector for Terminal Services

As a limited time offer from December 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, Open, Open Value, Select and EA customers are eligible to acquire Office Communications Server Standard CAL 2007 with Software Assurance at potential savings. This offer is available for Commercial and Government customers only.

As a limited time offer from January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008, Open Value customers are eligible to acquire licenses with Software Assurance for Office Enterprise at potential savings. Customers at Open Value agreement renewal that are renewing their Software Assurance on Office Standard are eligible to Step Up to Office Enterprise at potential savings. Customers at Open Value agreement renewal with Software Assurance on Office Professional Plus are eligible to move up to Office Enterprise by renewing their Software Assurance for Office Professional Plus via the promotional offer. This product condition note together with the customer's agreement, order confirmation, proof of payment and related transfer documentation, if any, will document its right to use Office Enterprise under this offering. This offer is available for Commercial and Government customers only. Offer is limited to a maximum of 249 licenses per agreement. Note that Office Enterprise is not offered as an Enterprise (company-wide) product in Open Value.

As a limited time offer from January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008, Select and EA customers are eligible to acquire per user subscriptions for Office Live Meeting Standard at potential savings.

A minimum purchase of 1,000 Office Live Meeting Standard per user subscriptions is required to be eligible. Customers should contact their reseller for details.

As a limited time offer from March 1, 2008 through August 31, 2008, Select and Enterprise Agreement customers are eligible to acquire Project Server 2007 CAL with Software Assurance at potential savings. This offer applies only to customers purchasing at least 500 Project Server 2007 CALs in a single order, and the discount is available only on a single order.

As a limited time offer from December 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, Select customers are eligible to purchase SharePoint (MOSS) Enterprise CAL 2007 with Software Assurance at potential savings. This offer applies only to customers that are also purchasing equal quantities of PerformancePoint Server (PPS) CAL with Software Assurance or ProClarity Desktop Professional 6.3 licenses with Software Assurance.

Customers migrating to SQL Server with Software Assurance from the following database products: Oracle Enterprise, Oracle Standard, IBM DB2 Enterprise, IBM DB2 Workgroup, Informix, Sybase ASE, Hitachi HiRDB, Fujitsu Synfoware, Natural/Adabas, C/Side, Hyperion Essbase, Business Objects, Cognos, Microstrategy, NCR Teradata, Progress, Centura, Gupta, and SAS are eligible to acquire SQL Server 2005 at potential savings. SQL Server 2005 Standard (server and per processor) and SQL Server Enterprise (server and per processor) as well as CALs are included. This promotion is only valid for the number of client access licenses that will be migrated to SQL Server with Software Assurance. This offer is available for Commercial and Government customers only.

For each set of 10 System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 management licenses a customer acquires between February 1st, 2008 and July 31st, 2008, the customer will be deemed to have 1 server license for System Center Data Protection Manager 2007. Use of Data Protection Manager 2007 under that license will be governed by the terms and conditions of the customer's license agreement and the product use rights for Data Protection Manager 2007. The customer's right to use Data Protection Manager 2007 under this offering is evidenced by their license agreement, evidence of their qualifying Data Protection Manager 2007 management licenses, and this product condition note. The right to use Data Protection Manager 2007 under the Data Protection Manager 2007 server license expires upon expiration or termination of the qualifying Data Protection Manager 2007 management licenses. The customer has the option to acquire Software Assurance for Data Protection Manager 2007 server licenses granted under this offering. That coverage must be acquired by no later than July 31st, 2008. Customers without media for Data Protection Manager 2007 should contact their reseller for media fulfillment options. Media fulfillment charges may apply.

As a limited time offer from April 1, 2008 through September 30, 2008, Open, Open Value, Select and Enterprise Agreement customers are eligible to acquire System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007 Workgroup Edition licenses and licenses with Software Assurance at potential savings.

As a limited time offer from March 1, 2008 through August 31, 2008, Open Value customers are eligible to acquire Windows Server 2008 CAL with Software Assurance at potential savings. This offer is available for Commercial and Government program customers only.

For a limited time (February 1, 2008 - June 30, 2008), customers who purchased Windows Vista® Business or Windows® XP Professional Licenses with new PCs through OEMs after December 31st, 2006 will be allowed to acquire Software Assurance coverage for those licenses.

The Windows Software Assurance Attach Offer establishes an amnesty period and provides an avenue for customers to gain rights to Windows Vista Enterprise and MDOP by taking full advantage of their SA benefits.
This promotion is applicable for the following programs and for the following Microsoft® Windows products only:

• Open Value and Select programs only
• Windows XP Professional (32 bit or 64 bit)
• Windows XP Professional N
• Windows Tablet PC edition
• Windows XP Professional Blade PC Edition
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Blade PC Edition
• Windows Vista Ultimate

Upgrade or OEM Licenses acquired prior to January 1, 2007 are ineligible for SA coverage under this promotion. Similarly, after June 30, 2008, OEM licenses acquired more than 90 days prior, are ineligible for SA coverage under this promotion.

As a limited time offer from December 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, Open Value and Select customers are eligible to acquire U&SA for Vista Business at potential savings. In addition, from December 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, customers that are purchasing Vista Business U&SA under this offer are also eligible to acquire subscriptions for Desktop Optimization for Software Assurance 4.1 (MDOP) at potential savings.

A new Microsoft Office Visio 2007 offer was posted to http://www.microsoftincentives.com/default.aspx .

Customers get a FREE (a $499 value) copy of SolarWinds LANSurveyor Express when they purchase or upgrade to Microsoft Office Visio 2007. SolarWinds LANsurveyor Express automatically create network diagrams in Microsoft Visio 2007. LANsurveyor Express is fully integrated as a Visio plug-in, so it is accessible directly from the Visio toolbar, making it easier than ever to get a comprehensive network map in just minutes! Promotion ends June 30, 2008.

For more information, please go to:
http://www.solarwinds.com/register/index.aspx?Program=583&c=70150000000DWUM&CMP=LEC-MSFT-Incentives-LSE-DL

Policy provides consistent and predictable guidelines for product support availability at the time of product release and throughout the product life. By understanding the product support available, customers are better able to maximize the management of their IT investments and strategically plan for a successful IT future. http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/#Support%20Lifecycle%20FAQs

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