So, anyone here ever had a question about licensing? I’m guessing probably not. So, how many of you have had A LOT of questions about licensing (not just A question)? Now we’re probably a little closer, right? Well, here’s your chance to get answers to many of those questions in a live session next week Friday at 9:00 am PST with Tim Carney, a fellow Microsoft Small Business Specialist and a SBSC User Group Leader, and me, Eric Ligman, Microsoft Global Partner Experience Lead in the Microsoft 5W/50 webcast series session: “Licensing for the Small Business Specialist - From a Partner Perspective.”

In this session, we will cover things like:

• When should I sell OEM, Retail, Open Value, Open Value Subscription, Open Value Company Wide, Open Business Licenses, and Open Government?
• Why should I even care about licensing? (And how you are probably throwing lots of money away if you don’t)
• What’s in it for me (WIIFM)?
• How can licensing help my business and my customer’s business in this tight economy?
• When and why should I promote Software Assurance? (And what the #$*^@% is it?)
• When and why should I promote “Spread Payments” over an “Up-Front Payment”?
• What qualifies for spread payments vs. up-front payment and how are they different?
• What do all of those abbreviations (OV, OVS, L, L+SA …) really mean?
• What about SKU’s? How do I get the right SKUs? Are there any clear tools to use?
• Is there an upgrade SKU from Windows Small Business Server 2003 to...?
• What are the SBS 2008 downgrade rights? How long can I downgrade for? Wait, can I downgrade?
• And more…

Now I know what you’re probably thinking… “Oh man, an hour of marketing fluff on licensing.” If you’ve ever attended one of my sessions in the past, either in-person or via webcast, you know that I don’t believe in marketing fluff type presentations and you can bet that Tim’s not here to give some marketing rah rah pep talk. I always try to make sure my sessions deliver the information you are looking for so you get the most out of your time that you are investing with us, and this session is no different. So I would encourage you to join Tim and me for this 60 minute session next week to get answers to some of the top questions on licensing we’re seeing & hearing to help you be more successful in the running and growing of your businesses.

You can REGISTER HERE for the session.

Also, be sure to check out the full lineup of sessions we are making available to you through the 5W/50 webcast series, which include other upcoming sessions like these:

• Migration Concepts with SBS 2008 (Jan 9^th) – Presented by Jeff Middleton
• Maximizing Success in Troubled Times (Jan 12^th) – Presented by Karl Palachuk
• The Microsoft Business and Technology Assessment Toolkit V4 - How Partners are Using It to Generate Real Revenue and Profit (Jan 23^rd)
• New Generation Certifications: Program Overview & Certification Resources Available for the SBSC Community (Feb 9^th) – Presented by Mark Crall and Deborah Vosler

And many more coming up and available on demand from the comfort of your office.

Thank you and have a wonderful day,

Eric Ligman
Global Partner Experience Lead
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights