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Gartner (March 2008): This research report by Gartner provides a third-party perspective on which Microsoft Volume Licensing program is right for your organization. Frances O'Brien provides an in-depth analysis of two Microsoft Volume Licensing programs to help answer frequently asked customer questions about licensing products under Microsoft Select or Enterprise agreements.

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IDC (July 2007): This IDC Vendor Profile provides an overview of the Microsoft approach to volume licensing. It focuses on the company's buying programs, covering the elements of the programs and descriptions of the key success characteristics and future directions. IDC has interviewed leading software vendors as part of its continuing research effort to understand the volume license offerings of selected software vendors.

Forrester (January 2007): Several months ago, Microsoft announced a new financing offering targeted at helping its customers soften the budget impact of new licensing purchases. But, unlike some other competitive offerings, the Microsoft program allows a customer to obtain financing for software licenses, related hardware purchases, and any professional services related to the software products. On the eve of its biggest new product release in years, Microsoft is hoping its financing program will make it easier for customers to replace all those old products.

Get in-depth and objective analysis of Microsoft Volume Licensing and Microsoft Software Assurance from leading third-party analysts, research organizations, and customers.

Redmond Channel Partner Online (April 2008): Microsoft introduced the Open Value Subscription value licensing plan in the United States and Canada. This licensing plan enables cash-strapped small and midsize businesses to acquire new software for less money up front. Open Value Subscription is part of the Microsoft Open License program, which offers greater flexibility along with three years of Software Assurance coverage and free training vouchers.

eWeek (January 2008): The Microsoft Open Value software license subscription program for small and midsize businesses will make its debut in the United States on March 3. Microsoft is extending its Open Value Subscription scheme to small and midsize businesses in the United States and Canada. The new licensing option allows organizations to subscribe to Microsoft software licenses for a three-year term, said Eric Ligman, senior manager, community engagement for the small business unit at Microsoft.

ChannelWeb (January 2008): Microsoft gave channel partners a sneak preview of a new volume licensing model that offers more financially practical terms to small and midsize businesses. Slated to launch in March, the Open Value Subscription program will allow partners and customers in the United States and Canada to "subscribe" to the Microsoft software they want to utilize in their businesses in a "lease-like" fashion, wrote Eric Ligman, Microsoft senior manager of community engagement for small business in the United States, in a Wednesday blog post.

ChannelWeb (September 2007): Microsoft is simplifying its customer Volume Licensing contracts, a move the software vendor says will make life a little easier for its channel partners. The changes being implemented through the rest of 2007 include reductions of 10 percent to 50 percent in contract lengths, increased use of standard language, and the elimination of multiple signature pages.

ZDNet (September 2007): Microsoft is reducing the number of CDs it ships to its Volume Licensing customers by shipping only the most widely used software on discs. The rest of its software will be available as downloads from the Microsoft Volume License Services Web site. The new policy will create less waste, "which is good for the environment," according to a statement from a company representative.

eWeek (September 2007): As part of an initiative to simplify Microsoft Volume Licensing, the company has slashed the number of price points and product SKUs in the different programs. In addition, Microsoft has updated the language and the content flow in each agreement to provide consistency across all Volume Licensing contracts.

PC World (September 2007): This week Microsoft said it was reducing the length of three of its Volume Licensing agreements between 10 percent and 50 percent. These changes affect the Enterprise Agreement, Enterprise Subscription, Select License, Open Value, Open Value Subscription, and Open License Volume Licensing agreements. Microsoft also has made it easier for customers to navigate license information and sign up online.

InformationWeek (September 2007): Changes designed to simplify Microsoft Volume Licensing include doing away with signature pages spread throughout the agreements and replacing them with a one-page signature form, which is all a customer needs to sign.

Redmond Channel Partner Online (February 2007): Microsoft announced this week that it is shipping updated tools meant to aid users in evaluating a myriad of software licensing options.

RedmondMag.com (July 2007): At the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft launched a tool to help partners walk their customers through licensing options. Called LicenseWise, the tool provides a partner interface for the customer-focused Microsoft License Advisor.

eWeek (July 2007): This week Microsoft unveiled a partner-centric technology called LicenseWise that is billed as a companion product to the customer-centric Microsoft License Advisor. The new tool is designed to help partners make the most of customer licensing deals.

ChannelWeb (January 2007): Microsoft has instituted at least 10 pricing and licensing changes for Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system that solution providers and users should heed before taking the plunge, according to experts.

InfoWorld (February 2007): Microsoft has released Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP2, an update to its award-winning data management and analysis platform.

ZDNet (February 2007): There was considerable outcry earlier this week over a blog entry that highlighted Microsoft restrictions on virtualization of Windows Vista by Parallels users running Mac OS X.

CIO (October 2006): The growing popularity of server chips with multiple microprocessor cores continues to muddy theaters of software pricing: CIOs should start planning now for changes and perhaps some uncertainty in their software budgets.

Redmond Channel Partner Online (November 2006): Afinety Inc. reorganized its business around Microsoft Financing. The experiences of this Los Angeles–based consultancy and of several other partner companies make the expanding Microsoft offering worth a hard look from other Microsoft partners.

eWeek Channel Insider (October 2006): Microsoft plans to deliver a set of new software tools designed to remove some of the pain enterprises experience when deploying and managing desktops and applications.

Redmond Channel Partner Online (October 2006): Microsoft is marshalling some partner resources behind an interesting new licensing package that rolls together the fruits of a few of the software giant's recent acquisitions.

Campus Technology (December 2007): Microsoft subscription licensing programs for education, collectively known as the Campus Agreement and School Agreement (CASA), now offer two additional benefits: home use and evaluation rights. In addition, Microsoft has made several changes in the areas of license renewal, buyouts, prorating, and other program terms. With CASA 3.5, education customers can now access the HUP Microsoft Software Assurance benefit, which allows users to obtain licensed copies of most Microsoft Office desktop programs for installation on a home computer. It also adds evaluation rights for downloading trial software from Microsoft Volume License Services.