Volume Licensing & Software Assurance
Volume Licensing and Software Assurance policies can seem distorted due to non-standardization. However, with a little guidance from our in-house licensing experts and Spiceworks colleagues, Microsoft aficionados recently learned how to swiftly traverse the licensing pathway.
Our most recent Video Meetup (VMU), “Microsoft Licensing 101: Volume Licensing and Software Assurance”, clarified perennial factors determining Volume Licensing capacity, including:
- Eligibility requirements based on organizational volume
- Immediate or scheduled payment structures
- Permanent or temporary product use
- Software Assurance benefits
Furthermore, the categorical structures and relative variations of the Volume Licensing matrix were outlined in regard to:
- TRANSACTIONAL vs. COMMITTED licenses
- SMALL (5-249 desktops) vs. LARGE (250+ desktops) licenses
- Open Business vs. Open Value (Non company wide) options
- Select Plus vs. MPSA (Microsoft Products & Services Agreement)
- Open Value (Company Wide) vs. Open Value Subscription
- Enterprise Agreement vs. Enterprise Subscription Agreement

Trusted Tech Team (TTT) licensing experts defined Software Assurance as: “a range of benefits which provide technology, services, and support to manage the software lifecycle.” More specifically, it was discussed as a product enhancement add-on for training, support, and usage rights. Ultimately, software assurance maximizes your product type or product-specific benefits.
A major takeaway from “Microsoft Licensing 101” was clarifying the fact that software assurance is an oft-discarded licensing option that ultimately saves you time and money. Bonus topics covered in the VMU included:
- How to weigh the total cost of operations (TCO) of a licensing program
- How to determine when different Open Licensing options are applicable
- How Software Assurance can ease the difficulty of End of Life (EOL) issues
- How Trusted Tech Team helps IT pros fully benefit from licensing programs
Trusted Tech Team: A Microsoft Gold Partner
For more information about Microsoft products, contact Trusted Tech Team for a free consultation. Our Licensing Engineers are here to help you maximize your software subscriptions, while providing the lowest costs available on the market.
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