Microsoft Software Assurance
Encyclopedia
Microsoft Software Assurance (SA) is a Microsoft
maintenance program aimed at business users who use Microsoft Windows
, Microsoft Office
, and other server and desktop applications. The core premise behind SA is to give users the ability to spread their payments for the software over multiple years, while offering "free" upgrades to newer versions in that time period.
All benefits are generated by a Benefits Administrator at the customer organization and can be managed on the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center at http://licensing.microsoft.com
Enterprise Edition and Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs
. In June 2011 Microsoft added Windows Thin PC, a desktop virtualization application that allows locked down versions of Windows 7 to be run on older hardware.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
maintenance program aimed at business users who use Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
, and other server and desktop applications. The core premise behind SA is to give users the ability to spread their payments for the software over multiple years, while offering "free" upgrades to newer versions in that time period.
Benefits
The full list of benefits, effective March 2006, are as follows:- Free upgrades: Subscribers may upgrade to newer versions of their Microsoft software as they become available
- Access to exclusive software products: Windows Preinstallation EnvironmentWindows Preinstallation EnvironmentWindows Preinstallation Environment is a lightweight version of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2008 R2 that is used for the deployment of workstations and servers...
, Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCsWindows Fundamentals for Legacy PCsWindows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs is a thin client operating system from Microsoft, based on Windows XP Embedded, but optimized for older, less powerful hardware. It was released on 8 July 2006...
, Windows 7 Enterprise Edition and Microsoft Desktop Optimization PackMicrosoft Desktop Optimization PackMicrosoft Desktop Optimization Pack is a suite of utilities for Microsoft Windows customers who have subscribed to Microsoft Software Assurance program...
are only available to Software Assurance customers - Training: Free IT training from Microsoft and access to E-Learning, a series of interactive online training tools for users. This training can only be taken at a Microsoft Certified Partner for Learning Solutions, a full list is available at http://www.microsoft.com/learning. Also, these can only be redeemed for training that is categorized as Microsoft Official Curriculum.
- Home use: Employees of a company with SA can use an additional copy of Microsoft software at home on their own computers
- Access to the Windows source code for larger companies (1,500+ desktops)
- 24x7 telephone and web support
- Additional error reporting tools to let administrators collect information on application failures
- Free licenses for additional servers provisioned as "Cold backups" of live servers
- Access to Microsoft TechNetMicrosoft TechNetMicrosoft TechNet is a Microsoft program and resource for technical information, news, and events for IT professionals. Along with a website, they also produce a monthly subscription magazine titled "TechNet Magazine"....
managed newsgroups - Access to Microsoft TechNet downloads for 1 user
- Extended Hotfix support: Typically Microsoft charges for non-security hotfixes after mainstream support for the product has ended (e.g. 5 years for Windows); this charge is waived for SA customers
All benefits are generated by a Benefits Administrator at the customer organization and can be managed on the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center at http://licensing.microsoft.com
Criticism
Software Assurance is often criticized for its expense and the lack of "free" software upgrades within the contract period. The development period between Microsoft operating systems often exceeds three years, therefore requiring the purchaser to renew their software assurance for another contract period, in order to get the next upgrade for "free".History
Software Assurance was part of Licensing 6.0 and initially only provided upgrades, but around the Office 2003 release, more benefits were added. In March 2006, Microsoft added Windows VistaWindows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
Enterprise Edition and Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs
Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs
Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs is a thin client operating system from Microsoft, based on Windows XP Embedded, but optimized for older, less powerful hardware. It was released on 8 July 2006...
. In June 2011 Microsoft added Windows Thin PC, a desktop virtualization application that allows locked down versions of Windows 7 to be run on older hardware.