Microsoft Software Assurance

Software Assurance is more than just an upgrade. You get a broad range of value-added benefits to help you manage costs, get the most out of new technologies, and improve employee productivity.

Software Assurance offers a broad range of benefits in one program, combining the latest software with tools and resources to help you deploy, manage, and migrate software. Benefits include:

Consulting services
Training
Around-the-clock web support
Technical resources

These benefits help increase the return on your technology investment by supporting budget predictability, lowering operating expenses, improved productivity, and minimized downtime.

You can choose Software Assurance at the time of purchase and begin using your benefits immediately for the term of your license agreement.

Note: Software Assurance benefits eligibility varies by Volume Licensing program.

Software Lifecycle: Plan - Deploy - Use - Maintain - Transition - Repeat

Explore the benefits related to your Volume Licensing program, and how they can help you throughout the software management lifecycle.

Please note that benefit requirements and eligibility may vary depending on the products you own and the number of licenses you have.

benefit requirements
Name	Description	Software Lifecycle
24x7 Problem Resolution Support	Enhances existing Premier Support agreements by providing around-the-clock incident support	Deploy, Maintain
"Cold" Backups for Disaster Recovery	Helps maintain IT operating efficiency and protect mission-critical solutions	Maintain
E-Learning	Offers self-paced interactive training designed for end-users and IT Professionals	Deploy, Use
Employee Purchase Program	Contributes to employee satisfaction by providing reduced rates on Microsoft products	Deploy, Use
Enterprise Source Licensing Program	Provides access to Microsoft Windows source code for internal development and support	Deploy, Maintain
Extended Hotfix Support	Reduces support costs and makes it easier for customers to get the support needed	Maintain, Transition
Home Use Program	Increases productivity by giving employees licensed copies of Microsoft Office programs for their home computer	Deploy, Use
Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP)	Increases desktop manageability, reduces total cost of ownership, and enables delivery of applications as services	Deploy, Maintain
Microsoft Office Multi-Language Pack	Enables IT to deploy a single Office 2007 image with support for 37 languages	Deploy, Use
New Version Rights	Provides new software version releases so you can have access to the latest technology	Plan, Deploy
Packaged Services	Delivers structured engagements to assist with planning and deployment including Desktop, SharePoint, Exchange, and Business Value Planning Services	Plan, Deploy
Spread Payments	Helps reduce initial costs and forecast annual software budget requirements	Plan
Step-Up License Availability	Enables you to migrate your software from a lower-level software edition to a higher-level edition of certain products	Plan, Deploy, Use
TechNet Benefits Through Software Assurance	Gives IT staff easy access to experts and technical information	Deploy, Maintain
Training Vouchers	Provides in-depth technical classroom training for IT professionals and developers	Deploy, Use, Maintain
Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs	Reduces the costs of owning legacy PCs, while improving their management and security	Deploy, Transition
Windows 7 Enterprise	Helps organizations lower costs, reduce risks, and stay connected	Deploy, Use, Maintain

Activating your Software Assurance benefits is easy. Select your volume licensing program from the options below to discover what benefits are available to you.

The majority of Software Assurance benefits need to be activated through the Microsoft Volume License Services (MVLS).

Campus and School Agreements
Click on a benefit listed below for specific activation steps.
Enterprise Agreement/Subscription
Click on a benefit listed below for specific activation steps.
Open
Click on a benefit listed below for specific activation steps.
Open Value
Click on a benefit listed below for specific activation steps.
Open Value Company Wide/Subscription
Click on a benefit listed below for specific activation steps.
Select
Click on a benefit listed below for specific activation steps.
Select Plus
Click on a benefit listed below for specific activation steps.

Choosing the Benefits Manager(s)

You will need to identify and register one or more individuals as Benefits Managers to manage Software Assurance benefits for your organization. Benefits Manager(s) may be human resources, training, or technical personnel.

A consideration when choosing whether to assign one or more Benefits Manager(s) to manage your benefits is the size of your organization and scope of benefits available to you. An enterprise organization that will access technical, training, and productivity benefits across multiple levels of an organization may find de-centralized benefits management most effective, whereas a mid-size organization may find it more efficient to centralize benefits management with one individual or department.

Here are some typical Benefits Manager recommendations for Software Assurance:

Benefits Manager recommendations for Software Assurance
Benefit	Recommended Manager
Packaged Services Windows Vista Enterprise Enterprise Source Licensing Program 24x7 Problem Resolution SupportTechNet Subscription through Software Assurance Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs	IT Manager
Training Vouchers	IT Manager Human Resources Manager
E-Learning	Staff Development Manager
Home Use Program Employee Purchase Program	Human Resources Manager