Monthly Microsoft News
__________________________
October 2007
Feature
Article
Why En Pointe Technologies? As your Microsoft Solution Provider
we work closely with our customers to understand their business
climate, current needs and future goals.
From a Microsoft perspective we are recognized as a Service Solutions
Large Account Reseller (SLAR) and Gold Certified partner. En
Pointe is also the first LAR to be designated as a Microsoft Security
Software Advisor.
This combination of licensing, product and services expertise
provides your organization a significant value and insight to
optimizing your infrastructure and maximizing your IT spend when
evaluating Microsoft licensing.
As more than just a software fulfillment agent, we stay with you
throughout the licensing process, from contract negotiation, to
license procurement and deployment, through maintenance renewals,
and even to asset retirement. With this model we can proactively
recommend cost saving strategies and ensure that you are leveraging
your IT investments to the fullest.
Daylight Saving Time will end
November 4, 2007, one week later than in previous years
Generally, no action is required
for customers and partners who installed DST patches in
the spring. However exceptions exist; encourage customers
and partners to review the website or call support
The websites, resources, downloads,
software patches, knowledgebase articles, etc. have been
vastly improved since last spring
Unlike in the spring, standard
technical support policies will be in place; DST issues
will not be free for those customers and partners who
do not have support agreements in place
New Zealand and Australia are
implementing DST changes for the first time; customers
and partners who do business with these countries may
be impacted
We expect the fall DST situation
to be far less impactful than last spring
Dear Valued Microsoft Customer,
In observance of the various Daylight Saving Time (DST) changes
Microsoft has been working closely with customers, partners
and others in the industry to help ensure a smooth and seamless
transition. Earlier in the year, many customers across the
world were able to transition smoothly by applying the right
updates prior to the DST changes taking place. Microsoft has
released updates for the Windows operating system and other
Microsoft software affected by these changes. More details
on the changes for DST start and end times around the world
can be found on the Microsoft website at http://www.microsoft.com/dst2007.
Forefront
Security for Exchange Server Promotion Extended until January,
2008
Customers
can get up to a 30% discount on Forefront Security for Exchange
Server.
Offer Details:
Up to 30% discount on Forefront
Security for Exchange Server
Eligible on purchases of User
Subscription Licenses or Device Subscription Licenses
Purchase through Open Value,
and Select
Offer available to all Commercial,
Government and Academic customers, worldwide
Offer valid on purchases made
from April 1, 2007 to January 31, 2008
This limited time promotional offer on
Forefront Security for Exchange Server provides you with
additional savings on purchases made between April 1, 2007
and January 31, 2008. Forefront Security for Exchange Server
helps organizations realize increased efficiency and control—plus,
this special offer delivers up to 30% discount now.
After
a successful beta with over 90,000 downloads in less than
6 months, Forefront Client Security released to manufacturing
on May 2nd 2007 and is now available for purchase.
Microsoft Forefront Client Security is a unified anti-virus/anti-spyware
solution that delivers:
Unified protection from viruses,
spyware, and other current and emerging threats
Simplified administration through
central management and integration with current infrastructure
Critical Visibility and Control
over both threats and vulnerabilities through insightful
prioritized security reports
Forefront Client Security is licensed
under a subscription model through Microsoft Volume Licensing
in the Online Services program:
A subscription on a per user
or per device basis for the Security Agent
A subscription on a per server
basis for the Management Console
A User/Device Subscription License (USL) is thus required
for every user/device protected by the Security Agent, and
a Service Subscription License (SSL) is required for each
server running the Management Console.
The list pricing for Forefront Client Security starts at
$12.72 per user or device,
per year for the security agent and at
$2,468 per year for the management console.
Microsoft
Software Licensing and Protection Services (SLP Services)
Product Announcement
Microsoft
announced on July 10, 2007 at Worldwide Partner Conference
that a new suite of products called Software Licensing and
Protection Services (SLP Services) will become available
in the October timeframe. The products comprise a set of
tools designed for companies that develop software —
from ISVs selling software to those working on internal
line-of-business applications — to help protect their
intellectual property (IP), easily and flexibly create and
license product versions, track product and feature usage,
and integrate their product licensing into backend business
processes.
Microsoft Forefront Client Security is a unified anti-virus/anti-spyware
solution that delivers:
Available October 1, 2007 through
Volume Licensing
SLP Basic Service will be included
in the MSDN Premium subscription beginning in October!
Forefront Client Security is licensed
under a subscription model through Microsoft Volume Licensing
in the Online Services program:
Campus
Open
Open Value (Open License Value,
Multi-year Open, Open Subscription License)
Select
Select Local
US Gov’t
EA – (will be available
in March 2008)
Beginning in October, 2007 Microsoft Software Licensing
and Protection Basic Service will be included in the MSDN
Premium subscription. Developers, ISVs and Corporate Development
Teams will have the ability to protect their .NET applications
from reverse-engineering, provide strong and flexible licensing
and activation for their products, and integrate their licensing
with backend business processes. Customers adopting SLP
Services products can purchase additional Activation Packs
through us.
The
Microsoft Office Multi-Language Pack 2007 (MLP) was launched
in August and will appear on the August pricelist for FPP
and the September pricelist for Volume Licensing. With the
release of the MLP, customers will no longer have the ability
to order physical media for individual language packs (discontinued
on July 31st , 2007). This means that all MLP SKUs that
contain a language name + Disk Kit in the title (i.e., Office
Multi Lang Pack 2007 Win32 Czech Disk Kit MVL CD) will be
eliminated from the SKU list, and all orderable MLP SKUs
will now contain the complete set of 37 language packs.
Download of individual language packs from MVLS and eOpen
will still be available, as will a full download of the
complete MLP. Volume License customers who purchased the
MLP will have the MLP media pushed out to them once the
MLP ships, and the full MLP will be included in future VL
kits starting in October.
Forefront
Security for Exchange Server Promotion Extended until January,
2008
Customers
can get up to a 30% discount on Forefront Security for Exchange
Server.
Offer Details:
Up to 30% discount on Forefront
Security for Exchange Server
Eligible on purchases of User
Subscription Licenses or Device Subscription Licenses
Purchase through Open Value,
and Select
Offer available to all Commercial,
Government and Academic customers, worldwide
Offer valid on purchases made
from April 1, 2007 to January 31, 2008
This limited time promotional offer on
Forefront Security for Exchange Server provides you with
additional savings on purchases made between April 1, 2007
and January 31, 2008. Forefront Security for Exchange Server
helps organizations realize increased efficiency and control—plus,
this special offer delivers up to 30% discount now.
Licensing
Updates
Management
Server Licensing Model Change in October PUR
The
October 2007 Product Use Rights (PUR) documents a change
in the Management Server licensing model. This change takes
effect November 1, 2007 with the introduction of System
Center Configuration Manager 2007 and System Center Data
Protection Manager 2007. The licensing model for System
Center Operations Manager 2007 will also change in November
to be consistent, but existing customers will have the options
outlined below. For October, customers acquiring System
Center Operations Manager 2007 should continue to apply
the use rights referenced in the July 2007 PUR.
Summary of licensing model
change taking effect as of November 1, 2007 (please
refer to October 2007 PUR for specific details)
To support this, Microsoft
will introduce two new management license types, a user
option and an operating system environment (OSE) option.
The user option applies to client management licenses,
a category of management license which initially will
only be available for System Center Operations Manager
2007 and System Center Configuration Manager 2007. The
OSE option applies to both client and server management
licenses. Microsoft will no longer offer a device option,
other than for management licenses purchased via the
Core CAL and Enterprise CAL Suites. However, the System
Center Server Management Suite Enterprise permits management
of any number of OSEs running on the device to which
it is assigned, analogous to a device option. Customers
who acquire the suite before the licensing model changes
effectively have the same coverage under the existing
licensing model (i.e., unlimited OSEs)
Except as noted, these changes
apply to all new and existing products available under
the Servers – Management Servers product category
licensing model
Starting November 1, customers
acquiring licenses for System Center Operations Manager
under enrollments or Open agreements entered into prior
to November 1, 2007 may use that software under the
revised license terms. They also have the alternative
of using the software under the license terms for System
Center Operations Manager 2007 contained in the July
2007 Product Use Rights. With either option, customers
must apply all of the license terms from the same Product
Use Rights (either July or October) to all use of System
Center Operations Manager 2007
Use of System Center Operations
Manager 2007 by customers acquiring licenses under enrollments
or Open agreements entered into on or after November
1, 2007 is subject to the revised license terms contained
in the October 2007 PUR
Note:
System Center Essentials 2007 already aligns with this new
licensing model; however its client management licenses
are only available with an OSE option. No user option exists
for System Center Essentials 2007.
Office
Live Meeting – Licensing Updates - Reminder
Effective
July 1 the Office Live Meeting Service Subscription License
(SSL) has been removed from the price list. You no longer
need to order the SSL for full licensing compliance. You
are now required to purchase User Subscription Licenses
(USLs) for all internal attendees of web conferences. There
is no longer the need to purchase the Add-on SL that enables
larger conference rooms as all new Volume Licensing Professional
Named User licenses will receive the 1,250 attendee meeting
capacity.
Licensing Updates
Live Meeting – User Access
Licensing
Effective July 1, Live Meeting licensing is changing
from licensing of meeting organizers to licensing
of users (USLs) who access the service as described
at http://www.microsoftvolumelicensing.com/userights/
. As an exception, you do not need USLs for external
users who access the online service for purposes
other than scheduling or conducting a web conference
Live Meeting Service Subscription
License (SSL) End of Life Reminder
As of July 1, 2007, Live Meeting no longer requires
the Service Subscription License (SSL). This had
been a mandatory recurring fee charged on an annual
basis for the Live Meeting service, where one SSL
has been required per URL or conference center
Live Meeting Service License
(Add-on SL) End of Life – Conference Rooms
Live Meeting 2007 will be introduced released
on the October pricelist with some significant benefits
for customers. The Professional Edition will offer
an increased meeting capacity to 1,250 attendees
(up from 25 in the current version). Microsoft is
enabling every customer who purchases the current
Professional version to get this benefit in advance
of the LM 2007 release; therefore the Add-on SL
Room SKUs are no longer required for meetings over
25 attendees. The Add-on SKUs will be discontinued
when LM 2007 is released in October
Promotions
Microsoft
Centralized Application Access Promotion* (MCAAP)
The
Microsoft Centralized Application Access Promotion is an
easy-to-purchase solution for an organization's secure application
delivery and access needs. By combining Windows Server 2003
Terminal Services and SoftGrid Application Virtualization
for Terminal Services with the Intelligent Application Gateway
(IAG), the customer gains the benefits of managed mobile
access to applications and data, high performance over slow
connections, and comprehensive application security to help
enforce corporate compliance. MCAAP provides a convenient
and cost-effective way to license the complete solution
the client’s business needs for secure remote access
to corporate applications and data from almost any device
or location.
Benefits Get
more out of your infrastructure and bandwidth investments
with an integrated remote access solution:
Increased productivity for
mobile knowledge workers (employees, contractors, vendors)
without corporate-managed machines
Higher security and compliance
for Terminal Server remote access to enterprise applications
and data
Reduced TCO for data center
operations supporting access
These offers package Windows Terminal Services, SoftGrid
for Terminal Services and Intelligent Application Gateway
2007 in a single license pack at up to a 20% discount off
their combined ERP list prices
*Details
Offer good on Open, Select
and Enterprise Agreement purchases through standard
corporate, academic and government programs
Valid August 1, 2007 through August 1, 2008
Both per-device and per-user
licenses available; Software Assurance is also available
Does not include server software
licenses or OEM appliances
The
current Exchange Enterprise CAL Promotion will be extended
until July 31st within Open Value, Select and EA. After
July 31st the Exchange Enterprise CAL Promo will only be
available in Open Value and Select (but not within EA) until
December 31st .
What is the Exchange Enterprise
CAL Promotion? Microsoft
is offering an incentive for current Exchange customers
with active Software Assurance (SA) to upgrade to both of
the new Exchange 2007 Client Access Licenses (CALs): the
Exchange 2007 Standard CAL and the Exchange 2007 Enterprise
CAL. Customers with active Software Assurance agreements
on their CALs will receive the Exchange Standard CAL that
includes new features and improvements for 2007. Current
Software Assurance customers can purchase the Exchange Enterprise
CAL as an add-on. As part of the promotion the licensing
fee for the Exchange 2007 Enterprise CAL add-on is waived.
The customer pays the incremental SA fee for Exchange 2007
Enterprise CAL only.
End-Of-Life
Notifications
2003
Microsoft Office System Desktop Application Products End-of-Life
Transition for Academic and SA Offerings
Reminder: Due to legal
reasons, 2003 Microsoft® Office System desktop application
products are no longer available as of June 30, 2007 under
the following programs:
Student Media
Academic Work At Home
Home Use Program (HUP)
Employee Purchase Program (EPP)
Any license or fulfillment orders received by June 30, 2007
will be fulfilled, however no new orders placed on or after
July 1, 2007 will be accepted.
NOTE: These
changes do not impact Volume Licensing media.
The following products will be removed from the Student
Media, Academic Work at Home, Home Use Program and Employee
Purchase Program offerings as of June 30, 2007:
