Practical IT Research that Drives Measurable Results Cut Through Microsoft Licensing Complexity to Negotiate a Better Deal
With millions spent on Microsoftware annually, most companies are overspending on licenses Microsoft has multiple licensing options to provide flexibility for various sizes of organizations, commitment levels, and product usage. This adds greatly to the complexity, causing many companies to buy into the wrong program. This research is designed for: ü Executives and line-of-business managers responsible for negotiating and managing software licenses. ü Software asset managers needing to familiarize themselves with Microsoft licensing. This research will provide you with the tools you need to: ü Create a technology roadmap. ü Build a business case to keep or discontinue Software Assurance. ü Make an informed decision about license acquisition options. ü Be well prepared for your license negotiation. ü Know that you are spending appropriately for your needs. ü Choose a Microsoft reseller and negotiate the deal.
Executive Summary Less than half of surveyed companies purchasing Microsoftware spend significant efforts to prepare for software negotiations. With Microsoft comprising more than 50% of a company’s software budget, this could be leaving considerable money on the table. • Proper preparation including a technical roadmap, vendor research and license program comparisons are the highest contributing factors to the success of a Microsoft negotiation. • Assignment of a dedicated license administrator is key to continued success. • Successfully negotiating Microsoft licensing programs requires a balance of knowledge of product usage, product use rights, Software Assurance and license agreements, which is often provided by resellers on an ask-only basis. • Value Added (VAR) and Large Account Resellers (LAR) do not always tell you what you need to know to negotiate a better license agreement and might just respond with, “Sorry, this is the best I can do, ” when you are looking for areas of savings. • Price is not the only area where you can save money – it really comes down to buying the right products in the right program.
Prepare the essential information to place yourself in the driver’s seat when negotiating a licensing deal • The efforts required to prepare for your Microsoft purchase should increase proportionally with the size and complexity of your requirements. • A formalized process will ensure information is readily available to negotiate contracts, but may prove to be excessive if purchasing a few licenses through a non-contract program. • In either case, documenting the thought process and cost justifications for your decision will greatly help when renewing agreements and planning your next purchases. Non-contract Contract Roadmap including Anticipated Growth Rate Product Use Rights License Program(s) Decision ROI Calculator for Software Assurance Benefits Acquire and read contract Choose vendor and negotiate your deal Tasks that will contribute to your license negotiation success
Create technology roadmap Analyze product licenses to find the most cost effective solution 1 1 2 Calculate the value of Software Assurance to your company Decide which license program will suit your needs Negotiate and manage your agreement 4 5 3 Next Section in Brief • Create a roadmap to develop a clear understanding of how your technology requirements align with Microsoft’s upgrade paths. • View technical requirements holistically to recognize, and plan for product dependencies. • Understand how to license, to optimize software spend.
Organizations that spend more effort creating a technology roadmap achieve greater MS licensing strategy success Microsoft licensing success is most readily achieved by first creating a technology roadmap The technology roadmap: • Documents previous upgrade paths for analysis of past behaviors • Identifies critical technologies and gaps and helps to align with business strategy • Identifies interdependencies of products (see appendix for partial list) The MS licensing strategy success was calculated by taking the average of the satisfaction with the following items: Ø Microsoft e. License site & sales support Ø MS S/WA benefits use and adoption Ø Vendor knowledge & support Ø Ease of license management Ø Ease of budgeting Ø Comfort level with software spend Use the roadmap to: • Compare Microsoft’s technology path with yours to see what software releases will benefit your organization • Extend the use of the technology roadmap to aid in budget planning, resource planning and education mapping
Use the technology roadmap to provide the base for all discussions around Microsoft licensing Review your technology requirements: • What tools are currently in place and are they providing a poor, adequate or strong solution? • What problems need to be solved? • Can existing tools be upgraded, enhanced or reused to resolve issues? • Can the problems be resolved by adding onto current infrastructure, or is it time to analyze alternatives? • What is the cost of managing your current environment, will tighter integration of products help, or create greater expenses? • Should the current infrastructure remain in-house or be partially or fully hosted? These are all questions that must be answered while creating the roadmap and preparing for Microsoft negotiations.
Complete Info-Tech’s Roadmap tool to compare your upgrade plans to Microsoft’s roadmap • Review strategy and appropriate technology alternatives to satisfy critical planning and budgetary needs The Info-Tech Microsoft Technology Roadmap tool will help you: 1. 2. Understand which products should be included in your Microsoft agreement. 3. “ Document and analyze past and future upgrade paths. Provide a starting point for training and deployment planning. If you prepare properly, know the roadmap and your strategic plan, you should be able to manage these expectations easily so you never overspend, especially holding an SA when it is of no value! ~ Director, Travel Industry ”
Create technology Roadmap Analyze product licenses to find the most cost effective solution 1 2 Calculate the Value of Software Assurance to your company Decide which license program will suit your needs Negotiate and manage your agreement 4 5 3 Next Section in Brief • Expand on the roadmap by using the Product Use Rights to correctly license products. • Know which licenses will save money on virtualization and productivity tools. • Compare product license options to find the right solution.
Consult the Microsoft Product Use Rights to align product usage with licensing rights & obligations • Expand the roadmap data to include correct product licensing based on Microsoft’s “Product Use Rights (PUR)” guide. • Responsibility for reading, understanding and installing according to the Microsoft PUR belongs to your Software Asset Management Team and CIO. • Use the PUR to plan and budget for upgrades or implementation of new technology, ensuring licensing rules are accurately reflected in your plan. • Beware of changes to product use rights. Often changes are made when new versions are released or to accommodate technology changes, such as adding VDI to Windows Software Assurance (July 1, 2010). Use Microsoft’s “Build a Customized Product Use Rights Document” to customize a PUR Info-Tech Insight: Anti-piracy organizations, such as BSA or SIIA, fine companies as much as 3 times the retail price times the number of unlicensed installations when they determine a company is out of compliance. Additional criminal charges and copyright suits may follow in certain circumstances.
Applications: Decide which products will be upgraded and deployed, and plan for alignment with Product Use Rights • Extend use of applications such as Microsoft Office 2010 to the Web and handheld devices. • Use roaming use rights, now available through Software Assurance, to make virtualization of applications less costly and more flexible. • Ensure appropriate edition is deployed to spend only what is needed, for example; Project Professional used where Standard would be appropriate would be an unnecessary expense. Use our survey questions for Visio and Project to choose the right edition for the job. PUR Licensing Basics: • Office 2010 suites and individual applications are licensed per device and can be downgraded (exception: OEM & FPP). • Portable Device rights extended to primary user on a second computer. • Work At Home (WAH) rights apply to primary user of software. • Exceptions apply to mapping and development software. Info-Tech Research Article: If considering options of whether or not to upgrade to Office 2010, see Info-Tech’s Storyboards: Make the Decision to Upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010 and Investigate Alternative Office Suites
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