The Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE) is an enrollment under the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement that allows highly committed customers to standardize broadly on one or more of the four server and cloud technologies from Microsoft. In exchange for making an installed base-wide commitment to an SCE component, you receive a range of benefits, including new cloud-optimized licensing options, simplified license management, and the best pricing and terms.

Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE) offers application License Mobility to the cloud and new benefits for using System Center to manage Azure resources. SCE also includes a subscription option that offers more flexibility when retiring workloads, consolidating, or migrating to the cloud.

Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE) replaces Enrollment for Core Infrastructure (ECI) and the Enterprise Application Enrollment (EAP) with a single enrollment spanning the Microsoft server and cloud technologies. This allows you to take advantage of simplified licensing through a standardized set of products and services to gain access to the latest technologies and benefits for all deployments.

• SCE offers great pricing and benefits for server and cloud products, including discounts on new licenses and Software Assurance15% discount off of a license with Software Assurance products. 
• 5% off Software Assurance products. 
• A subscription option is available alongside perpetual licenses, giving you more flexibility when you need to retire workloads, consolidate, or migrate to the cloud. 
• If you commit to the Core Infrastructure Suite (CIS), you will receive incremental rights to use System Center to manage Azure virtual machines and resources at no additional cost. 
• All the benefits of Software Assurance, including access to License Mobility for many applications, which allows for even more seamless migrations to the cloud. 

To enroll, an installed base-wide commitment, or monetary commitment in the case of Azure, is required to one or more of the following four SCE components:

• Core Infrastructure
• Application Platform
• Developer Platform
• Microsoft Azure

The following are also required:

• Enterprise Agreement: although you need to sign an Enterprise Agreement, an Enterprise Enrollment for Desktop is not needed to qualify.

• Annuity coverage: 100% Software Assurance or Subscription coverage is required on your installed base for each product family that you commit to, including those licenses that were not covered by Software Assurance when you entered the program.

With SCE, the following occurs:

• For licenses with continuous Software Assurance coverage, Software Assurance can be renewed at a discounted rate upon entering the program.
• For licenses that did not have Software Assurance, you can subscribe to the most current version of the product or repurchase the license and add Software Assurance.
• For incremental licenses purchased during the agreement term, you receive additional price savings on licenses with Software Assurance products.

Through the SCE, you can purchase groups of products and receive additional savings, or you can order software licenses and cloud services separately.

You will also see a distinction made between enterprise products that are available with an installed base-wide purchase commitment and additional products and enterprise cloud services that usually do not require such a commitment.

The following products are available:
 

• CIS Datacenter 16 – Packs of Core Licenses
• CIS Datacenter 2 – Packs of Core Licenses
• CIS Standard – 16 Packs of Core Licenses
• CIS Standard – 2-Packs of Core Licenses

All licensed Windows Server deployments must be covered with one of the above SKUs.

Minimum order requirement:

You will need to purchase a minimum of 400 Core Licenses or more of one or a combination of CIS Suites Standard or Datacenter.

SQL Server Product Family

• SQL Server CAL
• SQL Server Enterprise per core
• SQL Server Standard per core
• SQL Server Standard Server

BizTalk Server Product Family

• BizTalk Server Enterprise per core
• BizTalk Server Standard per core
• BizTalk Server Branch per core

SharePoint Server Product Family

• SharePoint Server

Minimum order requirement

You will need to purchase, at a minimum, the quantity of SQL per-core licenses needed for 50 cores or licenses for five SQL Server editions with 250 CALs.

If you would like to license BizTalk through an SCE, you will additionally need to purchase a minimum of 24 cores of BizTalk, any edition.

If you would like to license SharePoint through an SCE, you will additionally need to purchase a minimum of five servers of SharePoint Server.

The SQL Server product family must be selected to enable the purchase of any other Application Platform product family.

• Visual Studio Enterprise with MSDN
• Visual Studio Test Professional with MSDN
• MSDN Platforms

Minimum order requirement:

You will need to purchase a minimum of at least 20 licenses of any combination of Visual Studio Enterprise and MSDN Platforms. A license is required for each user of any software licensed through MSDN subscription.

• All Microsoft Azure cloud services

Minimum order requirement:

If you are purchasing Core Infrastructure, Application Platform or Developer Platform products under your Server and Cloud Enrollment, You may use the Azure consumption services and are billed monthly in arrears. Alternatively, you may make an Annually Prepaid or Fully Prepaid Azure prepayment of a minimum of $100 per month.

All products on the Enterprise Agreement additional products list can be added as additional products, except for products that require an installed base-wide commitment as SCE components.

The following are available as additional products:

• Visual Studio Pro
• SQL Server Enterprise Edition Server (non-core) Software Assurance only
• System Center Datacenter and Standard Edition (for managing non-Windows Server deployments)

These products may be added initially or at any point during the term of your SCE, allowing you to set up and maintain departments or divisions with specific needs more easily and still enjoy volume pricing advantages and an annualized payment option. SQL products may include device-based licenses, user-based licenses, and Cloud Services. Subscription is not available for any on-premises additional product.

Microsoft Software Assurance offers you all day, everyday support, and the latest software releases and unique technologies, all through one program. To help your IT staff efficiently implement and manage Microsoft products and services, Software Assurance provides access to new software releases when they become available. In addition, Software Assurance supports a greater variety of cloud and hybrid deployment options with extended license rights that let you deploy existing server application licenses in shared datacenters.

To enroll in the SCE, you will need to identify your installed base for the SCE components that you wish to purchase. You will need to identify:

• All existing licenses deployed with continuous Software Assurance across all your existing licensing agreements and enrollments.

• All licenses deployed (in use) without continuous Software Assurance.

• Any licenses you would like to add at the signing of your SCE.

Next, you will need to make sure you have full Software Assurance coverage on all these licenses. Licenses with Software Assurance simply renew as Software Assurance only in the SCE.

For deployments that are currently licensed without Software Assurance, you have two options:

• You can add subscription SKUs to license these workloads.

• You can add new License with Software Assurance SKUs at signing for these workloads.

If you are enrolling in the Core Infrastructure Component, you will need to make sure that all your Windows Server deployments are also licensed with System Center through a CIS SKU. You can do this with subscription licenses or by adding a new License with Software Assurance. In scenarios where you have current Software Assurance on either Windows Server or System Center, but not both.

Subscription provides you with flexibility both in meeting the coverage requirements of an SCE and when deploying new licenses. You can purchase subscriptions to cover licenses without continuous Software Assurance at signing or for new deployments

Subscription provides flexibility through:

• Lower upfront costs when signing an SCE.
• More purchasing options for new units.
• Ability to reduce licenses annually when retiring workloads, consolidating, or migrating to the cloud.

Subscriptions require a minimum commitment of 12 months. However, should you not wish to renew or prefer to purchase a license, buyout pricing will be set at year three True-Up pricing. Subscription SKUs can be purchased through Monthly Subscription Units (MSUs) and can be included with perpetual licenses in the same SCE.

You can purchase Azure in one of two ways in the Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE):

• Azure is automatically available when enrolling in any of the other three SCE components (such as Core Infrastructure, Application Platform, and/or Developer Platform). You will receive an activation email from Microsoft inviting you to provision Azure Services without the need to purchase Monetary Commitment.
• Azure Monetary Commitment can be purchased without enrolling in any of the other three SCE components.

If you are heavily committed to deploying server technologies on-premises, making an installed base-wide SCE commitment to Windows Server and System Center, SQL Server, or Developer Tools allows you to standardize on or more of these technologies without any upfront commitment to Azure. However, once you are ready to move some of your workloads to the cloud, you will be able to start using Azure immediately and get billed quarterly only for what you use.

You also have the option of signing an Azure-only SCE—this means that you purchase Azure only without a commitment to any of the other three SCE components. You will need to sign a three-year contract, but you do have the ability to increase or decrease your commitment annually.

Customers purchasing Microsoft Azure through their SCE will be eligible to continue using Azure on a pay-go basis after their enrollment expires.

If you enroll in the core infrastructure component, you can use System Center to manage Azure Virtual Operating System Environments (VOSEs) without needing to acquire an additional license. You can, of course, use license mobility to move existing qualifying licenses to the cloud when moving workloads to Azure, but this benefit will also allow you to manage new deployments as well, without buying additional licenses.

Eligible Azure VOSEs instances include:

• Windows virtual machine instances
• Cloud service instances (web and worker role)
• Storage accounts
• SQL databases
• Website instances

The annual price-per-license budgeting feature of the SCE is predictable, so you can forecast software technology costs up to three years in advance. A payment (based on your initial order) is due each year on the anniversary of your SCE. Should you add additional software licenses or subscriptions during your agreement, the per-license costs remain the same or may be lower given the program’s volume pricing levels.

At the onset of your Enrollment, pricing is based on a tiered volume discount structure, meaning the greater the size of your purchase commitment the less you will pay for an individual license.

Payments for products and services purchased at signing may be spread over three annual payments mapping to your yearly agreement anniversary. This is a benefit of the EA’s Software Assurance coverage and is offered as an optional payment term with no cost-of-money fees.

Payment Solutions help facilitate adoption of Microsoft’s Mobile First, Cloud First solutions with flexible payment options designed to address customers’ business and financial requirements. With Payment Solutions, customers can:

Simplify cloud adoption: fund all aspects of your solution, including software and services.

Innovate on your terms: structure payments to meet your business requirements; add new seats and adjust subscription amounts as needs change.

Maximize ROI: minimize up-front payments and pay as you deploy your IT solution and
realize benefits.

For organizations that already license software from Microsoft, payment options are convenient to add, and spread the costs of the software over an extended period of time, preserving capital resources for other investments and business priorities.

Over the life of your SCE, you can deploy additional software and online services and then account for these changes through an annual reconciliation process known as True-Up.

Once a year, you are asked to reconcile your SCE licenses, subscriptions, and services to account for anything that has been added in the previous 12 months. This effort culminates in an order you place (or an Update Statement you submit) that reconciles all the software licenses, subscriptions, or online services added or used by your organization over the course of the year. Your annual reconciliation order (or Update Statement) is due 60-30 days prior to your Enrollment anniversary, which helps Microsoft make sure you’re taking advantage of allowable license transitions or license reductions before issuing your annual invoice. (See the Enterprise Agreement True-up Guide for more information.)

To enroll in an Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE), you will sign a Microsoft Business Solutions Agreement (MBSA) and an Enterprise Agreement in addition to the SCE. SCE can cover one or more components under the EA. If you want to make an installed base commitment to more than one component, this can be accommodated within one SCE contract. You will be able to commit to additional components throughout the term of your SCE.

Once you have made an installed base-wide commitment to a given component, you get all the benefits that go along with that component. If an additional commitment is made to an alternate component, then you will also realize the incremental benefits for that set of products. There is no cumulative benefit of adding multiple components, other than the simplicity of standardizing your Server and Cloud licensing in a single vehicle.

Throughout your SCE term, you may adjust your Microsoft software and cloud services licenses in two ways:

• If you need to add more licenses for products already enrolled for in the SCE, these changes are reported at your next agreement anniversary through an annual reconciliation process known as True-up.
• If you want new products or cloud services, you can order these through your Microsoft Reseller at any time during your agreement.

While management processes may be modified to accommodate future cloud service offerings, you currently have two main ways to manage Microsoft cloud services:

• Use the Azure Portal to manage your accounts, configure rules and settings for various Azure services, and generate reports.
• Use Microsoft System Center to manage both public and private Microsoft cloud implementations. System Center’s comprehensive management capabilities allow it to monitor and manage your entire IT infrastructure stack from traditional physical servers to virtualized servers, virtual machines, running workloads, and all the way up to service-based cloud components.

Online management tools and information

Designated members of your organization gain access to the following online tools to use and manage aspects of your Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE).

• Use the Microsoft 365 admin center to download licensed products, access product keys, and manage your Volume Licensing agreements and license acquisition activity, all in one online location.
• Software Assurance Benefits (www.microsoft.com/softwareassurance). Most benefits can be accessed through the M365 admin portal. The Software Assurance website provides everything you need to know to get started.

Note: when you subscribe to Microsoft cloud services, you gain access to online administration and monitoring tools. See Managing Cloud Services on previous page.

Buying, renewing, or adding to the SCE

• To buy, renew, or add products and services to your SCE, contact your
  Microsoft Authorized Reseller. In the United States, call (800) 426-9400, or find an authorized reseller.
• In Canada, call the Microsoft Resource Centre at (877) 568-2495.

Academic, government, and charitable organizations

If you are affiliated with an academic, government, or charitable organization, there are additional Volume Licensing programs available to you, which may include additional partner and pricing advantages. Visit Microsoft Volume Licensing for more information.

Worldwide

For information about Volume Licensing offerings available in your area, find the
Microsoft Volume Licensing website for your country/region.

Microsoft Volume Licensing www.microsoft.com/licensing

Software Assurance www.microsoft.com/softwareassurance

The structure of the Enterprise Agreement consists of three components: the Microsoft Business Solutions Agreement (MBSA), Enterprise Agreement, and any Enterprise Agreement Enrollments. The Microsoft Business Solutions Agreement (MBSA) covers multiple Volume Licensing programs including the Enterprise Agreement and also Services terms. The Enterprise Agreement governs all Enrollments signed under the EA. Each Enrollment then contains terms which apply only to the specific offers available under that Enrollment, as well as outlines ordering, billing and pricing terms. The purpose of this agreement structure is to simplify the license agreement process by allowing general governing contract terms to be signed once, without the need to re-negotiate terms when you choose to purchase additional licenses through your Enrollments. Please see the structure below:

• Microsoft Business Solutions Agreement (MBSA)

  • Enterprise Agreement

    • Enterprise Enrollment

    • Enterprise Subscription Enrollment

    • Server and Cloud Enrollment

Microsoft Business Solutions Agreement (MBSA) is required. This is a master agreement that defines contract terms common to Volume Licensing and Services agreement. The Microsoft Business Solutions Agreement (MBSA) needs to be signed only once with, or prior to, your Enterprise Agreement.

The Enterprise Agreement defines the license terms which apply to all Enrollments. The Enterprise Agreement Enrollments establish the basic information that your organization can use to buy product licenses under the Enterprise Agreement. They define purchasing requirements, ordering rules, billing options and pricing terms. Additionally, they define purchase details like the term of the licensing arrangement, products, and whether or not the Enrollment requires an organization-wide purchase commitment. They also identify the Enrolled Affiliate, included Affiliates, specific Enrollment contacts, and the Enterprise Software Advisor (ESA) or Large Account Reseller (LAR).

In July 2015, the Product Terms replaced both the Product Use Rights and the Product List. Together with the program agreement, Product Terms contains all the terms and conditions for how you purchase licenses for software and online services through Microsoft Volume Licensing programs, with the exception of the Microsoft Online Subscription and Cloud Solution Provider programs, as well as how you may deploy and use software licensed under those programs.

Information on how to deploy and use Online Services continues to be found in the Online Services Terms (OST) for all programs. (For a copy of the current Product Terms, visit www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/product-licensing.aspx.)