Microsoft Changes Windows Licensing...


Microsoft Changes Windows Licensing


Mark November 3, 2014, in your calendar as a red-letter day and living proof that leopards can change their spots. On this day, Microsoft changed the terms of Windows licensing for its flagship desktop operating system, Windows Enterprise. In an update to the terms and conditions of its Enterprise edition, Microsoft now offers the option to purchase Windows desktop operating systems on a per-user basis as well as a per-device basis, thereby opening up BYOD (bring your own device). Even more amazing, this user-based license negates the hated VDA (Windows Virtual Desktop Access).

According to the Microsoft licensing website, with per-user licensing you can:
  • Free your users to use or access Windows Enterprise across all their devices.
  • Deliver Windows Enterprise across devices through local install, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), or Windows To Go.
  • Gain the simplicity of counting users instead of counting all of their various devices—enabling BYOD scenarios without the need to track every device and license.
The chart below (from Microsoft’s licensing site) clearly shows that a per-user license negates the requirement for a VDA license and grants the user access to a Windows instance on “any device.”
Access Rights to Windows Enterprise
Access Rights to Windows Enterprise
This has been a long time coming and has been eagerly awaited by the VDI and DaaS communities. With the advances in storage and flash acceleration, desktop licensing has, up until this announcement, been a very large line item in any VDI or DaaS deployment. Now, properly licensed Microsoft operating systems, which include Windows 8.1, 8.0, 7, Vista, and XP, qualify for this terms and conditions change.
That said, there are some hoops to jump through. According to the site, the following conditions must be met:
  • A licensed, qualifying Windows operating system must already be installed on the device that will be assigned the Volume Licensing Upgrade license. The following table lists base operating system licenses—including preinstalled original equipment manufacturer (OEM) versions—that are eligible for upgrade.
  • You must remove the existing qualifying operating system from the device to deploy the Volume Licensing Upgrade license, unless the PC is covered by Microsoft Software Assurance.
  • If you want to install or run more than one licensed operating system at one time (including the qualifying operating system), you can either:
    • Acquire Microsoft Software Assurance for your Volume Licensing Upgrade license, or
    • Purchase full Windows licenses separately.
Windows 8.1 Qualifying Operating Systems
Windows 8.1 Qualifying Operating Systems
It is not perfect, but it is a lot fairer for the VDI and DaaS industries and a very good step in the right direction. The majority of Enterprise users now have more than one “main” device on which they undertake their work. With this new announcement, providers of VDI and DaaS solutions can at least fight on a more even licensing field. One dark cloud to this announcement is that “Windows licenses [that] are available through Volume Licensing are upgrade-only licenses and can only be acquired on top of a base OS license. These licenses are not a replacement for a pre-existing full OS license.” What this appears to say is that there is still an uplift in cost over a per-device license, and as with Enterprise licensing, the baseline cost is mainly dependent on what you can negotiate with Microsoft during your Enterprise license negotiation stages.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Google reinvented security and eliminated the need for firewalls

Image
How Google reinvented security and eliminated the need for firewalls In some ways, Google is like every other large enterprise. It had the typical defensive security posture based on the concept that the enterprise is your castle and security involves building moats and walls to protect the perimeter. By Neal Weinberg Executive Features Editor, Network World | Feb 15, 2017 10:48 AM SAN FRANCISCO -- In some ways, Google is like every other large enterprise. It had the typical defensive security posture based on the concept that the enterprise is your castle and security involves building moats and walls to protect the perimeter. Over time, however, that perimeter developed holes as Google’s increasingly mobile workforce, scattered around the world, demanded access to the network. And employees complained about having to go through a sometimes slow, unreliable VPN. On top of that, Google, like everyone else, was moving to the cloud, which was also outside of the cast
Read more

7 free alternatives to Microsoft Office you can consider

Image
  7 free alternatives to Microsoft Office you can consider Microsoft Office is one of the most-popular productivity suites globally. It is used by companies worldwide for spreadsheets, Word, PowerPoint and more. However, it really does not come cheap. if you are are looking for some more affordable/free alternatives, here are seven that you can look at:   Google Workspace Google Workspace is one of the most popular alternatives to Microsoft Office. It is free and offers users 15GB of cloud storage for storing files, mails, attachments and more. Workspace includes several Google apps and services including Google Docs, Sheets, Slides as an alternative to Word, Excel and Powerpoint. It also includes Google Drive, alternative for Microsoft OneDrive.   iWork is another good free alternative to Microsoft Office, but it is best suited for Apple users (Mac, iPhone and iPad). There’s a web-version too, but it has limited functionality. In terms of Apple iWork offers Pages, Numbers and Keynote
Read more

How to back up Android devices: The complete guide

Image
How to back up Android devices: The complete guide Make sure all your important data is always synced and protected with this easy-to-follow Android backup guide. Thinkstock 'Twas a time not so long ago when backing up an Android phone was a massive, migraine-inducing undertaking. It's true: A mere matter of years back in our mobile device saga, a proper Android backup required physical computer connections , complicated third-party software and more than a few adult beverages. But my, what a difference a few years makes. These days, backing up an Android device and keeping your data synced takes little to no actual effort. Most of the work happens seamlessly and automatically, behind the scenes — either without any involvement on your behalf or with a one-time opt-in when you first set your phone up. And restoring your data is typically as simple as signing into a device and letting Google's systems work their magic. Still, your data is i
Read more