Microsoft licensing: advice needed please.

[DMcCoy]

I don't think most companies stick to the absolute letter of the MS licensing terms, I'm not sure if this is still current. As long as you license what you can correctly I can't see a few transfers being too much risk of any action from MS, I doubt the fairness of that term would want to be tested.

 

As far as what your options are:

 

Windows OS: For those with no license, OEM if they were built by the school, full versions of windows may be the only other option.

 

Office can be licensed in full from a schools agreement or select agreement (at a cost of £35 or so iirc).

Windows Server and other server applications can be obtained in full from schools agreement or select.

 

I would look at select from people like Pugh/Ramesys etc. A select license will allow downgrade rights so get Office 2007 licenses.

 

Office: Select

Server: Select

 

Windows: XP Home full product or cheap deals on Windows 7 (need to check which versions qualify though). Then buy the additional upgrade license under select to bring it up to XP Pro/Vista Enterprise etc. If you plan to move to Windows 7 in the near future then you may have to get Vista business, can't see the image on the license page atm

 

Product High-Light - Windows Desktop OS- What is a Qualified Base license in Volume Licensing – UPDATED for Windows 7 - Windows Live

 

 

Edit: Ah - Note: Windows Millennium and Windows XP Home Edition are not prior versions of Windows 7 Professional

Edited September 29, 2009 by DMcCoy

[CtrlAltDel]

I just want to say I appreciate all the feedback in this thread. Thanks guys.

 

Seems like a few random questions have turned into a good exchange of information.

 

Its not easy to find all the ins and outs of these license schemes if your on the outside looking in. Something perhaps only experience can cator for.

Everything I do I want to do properly, to offer robust solutions to problems at the lowest possible cost and to minimise wastage.

Whatever I do, I know its going to cost the school a lot of money. I just need to find the best value solution to our scenario.

The head is keen to minimise high initial outlay costs as its just to keep everything going for another two years, until our local authority close the site and change the three tier system over to the two tier system.

[sahmeepee]

Just to add another little nugget of information: under the current School Agreement terms, after you have been in for a few years (3 I think) you can then choose to buy yourself out at a cost of 1.75 times the annual school agreement cost. You then own the current licenses in perpetuity as if you had bought them under the select agreement. Depending on the timing of OS and Office releases and your current budget levels that may well be a viable option.

 

Obviously there is the potential for them to change that policy at some point in the next 3 years and leave you up the creek.

 

We are currently on a Schools Agreement and I'm considering a buyout after we upgrade to 7 next summer although it partly depends on how the next Office release schedule pans out.

[Ric_]

There is a handy resource at http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/schools/software-licensing/default.aspx which does clarify a few things.

[SteveMC]

The head is keen to minimise high initial outlay costs as its just to keep everything going for another two years, until our local authority close the site and change the three tier system over to the two tier system.

 

It may be worth bearing in mind that, if there will be a school on your current site (not sure if you're one of the sites for an amalgamated primary school) after the current shenanigans, I believe volume licences can be transferred between organisations. Obviously, that may not be top of the list of priorities when staff are all having to re-apply for jobs, but it may help with getting funding to sort things out now.

 

There's a company that appears to specialise in this sort thing, and an article or two about it on-line. I'm not 100% sure of the technicalities involved though.

 

Stephen