https://www.techtarget.com/searchwindowsserver/definition/Microsoft-Software-Assurance-SA
Microsoft Software Assurance is a software maintenance program that helps organizations gain access to the latest software versions and releases, without incurring additional licensing costs. The program was introduced by Microsoft in 2002 and is either automatically included in purchase plans or available as an optional add-on.
At the time, organizations were often spending excessive amounts of money on Windows licenses. These licenses were not transferrable when a new Windows version was released. If an organization wanted to upgrade to the latest Windows version, it would have to abandon its existing license investment and purchase new licenses for the newly released version.
Microsoft Software Assurance provides licenses for version upgrades. Software Assurance customers automatically receive licensing rights that will allow them to deploy new software versions whenever they are released. The Software Assurance program also provides access to Microsoft Unified Support as well as to other services that are designed to help customers to get the most from their software.
There are four broad categories of features of the Microsoft Software Assurance program. These include:
Microsoft currently offers six different licensing plans, each with differing benefits. These plans include Open License, Open Value Non-Organization Wide, Open Value Organization-Wide and Subscription, Select/Select Plus for Government, Microsoft Products and Services Agreement, and Enterprise Agreement/Enterprise Agreement Subscription.
There are a number of benefits associated with Microsoft's Software Assurance program, although some of these benefits will eventually be discontinued. Other benefits only apply to specific licensing plans or are only available to those who spend a certain amount of money each year. The benefits include:
For further reference, Microsoft provides a chart that breaks down the benefits associated with each plan.
Microsoft's Software Assurance program has drawn criticism for its price, as well as the duration of each contract period relative to the frequency of significant software upgrades. As major operating system upgrades are often released on intervals of greater than three years, the Software Assurance contract would likely have to be renewed for each significant upgrade.
Furthermore, the Software Assurance requirements state that clients must spend specific minimum amounts of money before accessing some of the specific benefits. For example, Microsoft requires a minimum $250,000 in Software Assurance annual spend (starting in August 2021) in order to receive the problem resolution support benefit.
Software Assurance is only available through a volume licensing plan. Negotiations for a Software Assurance plan must be done through a Microsoft Authorized Retailer. Software Assurance is automatically included in some licensing plans and available as an additional purchase in others.
22 Apr 2020