Shinagami

The inference on the call was that the prices for the cloud offerings would be offered at a better rate so that you would be able to get a similar or better price than you do with the OVSES / EES agreements at the moment but I don't have that in writing so can't guarantee it.

Sorry I was getting some other questions answered for my customers and did not think of that one. It was simply stated that the cloud licensing may be cheaper than onsite licensing once the discount period has finished. It was assumed by the resellers on the call to be part of Microsoft's ongoing push for cloud / Hybrid solutions.

I've been reading through this topic and I may be able to clear a few things up here. I'm an Ex Microsoft employee who now works for a reseller, I have been on a conference call with Microsoft about this and I can share a little information with you. To be honest good resellers should be telling you this information already. I know I have already told some of my customers. Microsoft have renegotiated their deal with the government to bring the UK education licensing prices into line with the prices in Europe. Although Microsoft are pushing for everyone to move to the cloud onsite licensing will continue to be available for the foreseeable future. The open academic agreement (perpetual licences) does not currently get the same discounts as the OVSES and EES agreements and the pricing will be largely unaffected except for normal price fluctuations. The OVSES and EES agreements will both still be available but the Level F discount level has been removed except for schools with 1000+ FTE’s New school customers that do not currently have an OVSES agreement and want to start one will find the prices will rise around 14% after 31/07/2016 Schools renewing existing agreement will not have this price increase. If you have a renewal before July 2016 it is recommended that for the next two years you should renew with 1 year subscriptions and in 2018 renew with a 3 year subscription which will give you discounted pricing until 2021. If you have a renewal after July 2016 then renew for 1 year and then 3 years which will give you discounted pricing until 2020. If you have recently taken out a 3 year renewal that will end after 01/07/2018 then you will not be able to extend the discount level you are getting beyond that point Microsoft have said that although on site licenses will still be available customers may find cloud licensing to be a cheaper alternative after the discount period has finished. Any schools that finish their OVSES agreement and wish to buyout their licenses will be granted a discount on the buyout price. An information pack will be available at a later date to help explain the benefits of the cloud to headmasters, teachers and pupils but we were not told exactly when this would be available. I hope this cleared up a few questions. I will keep an eye on this topic to see if I helped or not.