How to get the best deal on Microsoft software in Education

re: How to get the best deal on Microsoft software in Education

sprince — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:29:08 GMT

Cheryl,

That is very helpful thanks and does fit with a conversation I had with a contact at another EdLAR since the posting I made above.

One of the things I found surprising is that it seems to make no difference what the OEM license was when you buy out of a Schools Agreement. That is certainly interesting to us as we are now looking to the next few years to decide whether to pay the (1.75 * subscription) and stay on a steady OS platform until the new version of Windows in 2010-ish.

Regards,

Sam Prince

re: How to get the best deal on Microsoft software in Education

Cheryll01 — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:52:41 GMT

Sam

There are certainly specific versions of the Windows OS that you can upgrade from. There is a really helpful table at:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931858

You will see that you can actually use your Windows 98 as a base upgrade product for Windows 2000 Pro, XP Pro and even Vista! Obviously these days with a School Agreement no-one should purchase anything other than the cheapest OEM versions going which include Vista Home Basic, Starter Edition and Vista Home Premium.

If you're upgrading servers then say for Windows Server, you could upgrade from Windows Server NT to 2008 using School Agreement or Select - albeit they are not upgrades in the sense of Windows Desktop OS upgrades as other than that range of products there are no straightforward upgrades available.

If you have Servers on your School Agreement there is no need for you to purchase any OEM Server products as you would already be licenced - subject to you having purchased additional server licences on your School Agreement to cover that particular purchase. Being an OEM as well as an EdLAR, we regularly install Server products under customer's School or Select Agreements rather than selling them OEM licences. All we need as an OEM is proof that you have the relevant agreement and because of product activation, if you don't hold your School Agreement through us, we would ask you for the volume licence key (VLK) for that version of the server.

What everyone should remember when buying Desktop OS products is to buy the cheapest OEM version available if you have a School Agreement that includes Desktop School or stand-alone Windows Upgrades because you have already paid for them so why pay twice. Also when buying Servers, again if you have a School or Select Agreement and can purchase/add servers under those agreements, make use of these as they are often 1/20th - 1/10th the cost of an OEM Server product.

I hope this helps.

regards

Cheryl Lapham

General Manager Software Division

Viglen Ltd

re: How to get the best deal on Microsoft software in Education

sprince — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:40:09 GMT

As you mention above, under the School Agreement desktops need to come with Windows on them, but can then be upgraded to a better version of Windows. Typically, schools will be buying the Home version of Vista or possibly XP and then upgrading to XP Pro.

I seem to remember from the last time that I waded through the licensing paperwork that there were specific versions of Windows excluded from this so that you couldn't use a Win98 license (say) as a base OS to upgrade from.

The question I have is: if I have a Server 2003 or 2008 license on my School Agreement, what is the earliest/cheapest version of Windows I can upgrade from? Does the license specify it has to be in the server family or could I be sneaky and buy a server and an XP license then upgrade that? What about 2000 server which is available cheaper than 2003/2008. At around £450 a time to get an OEM copy of Windows on a Dell server costing less than £1000 it's a big hit on our budgets.

Sorry to ask licensing questions!

Sam

re: How to get the best deal on Microsoft software in Education

Ray Fleming — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:50:04 GMT

Hi Peter,

You're correct that I should have said "Academic Edition Fully Packaged Product(FPP)" instead of "Academic Open Licence". The Academic FPP product is the licence that you can buy as a one-off package.

But the preferred (ie free!) option for teachers is to use the rights to use it on a second PC for work use, or Work at Home Rights.

You don't need to have Software Assurance to have these rights. (See the text in my answer above)

Generally, the rule of thumb is that if you're a teacher, and you use the software at school, then you're likely to have the right to use it at home (for school work) through one of the two methods above.

Ray

re: How to get the best deal on Microsoft software in Education

Computerbox — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:06:34 GMT

Ray,

You advise Richard that

....if all else fails, you can buy an Academic Open licence from your normal Microsoft Academic supplier.

This is not really true and is a little misleading.

Firstly, there is a minimum initial order requirement of 5 licenses under the Open license route as it is not designed for individuals unless they are in a business which trades uner their own name and have 5 or more computers.

Secondly, as a teacher, his wife could purchase the educational boxed edition herself

You are correct that Work at Home rights would be applicable under School Agreements if the school included Publisher (or Office, as Publisher is included with this), but if the school had perpetual licenses for either Office or Publisher they could purchase software assurance for the licenses required which would also provides home use rights.

Peter B

http://edugeek.net/index.php?name=forums&file=viewtopic&t=11930

TrackBack — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 04:45:02 GMT

http://rm.com/generic.asp?cref=gp1039079&srcurl=/thebasement/faq

TrackBack — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 04:44:49 GMT

Software for school pupils - at education prices

Microsoft UK Schools News Blog — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:48:12 GMT

Students don't have much money. Christmas is coming - along with a new PC. What do they do about software?

re: Buying Microsoft software - how to get the best deal

Ray Fleming — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:01:15 GMT

Hi Richard,

There's a page on the UK Education website that talks about Work at Home rights:

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/buy/licensing/buying.mspx

And that gave the answer:

If your wife's school bought the licences under the Select Agreement, then the following two sentences apply:

"For each licensed copy of Microsoft Office, the primary user of the computer on or from which the product is run may also run a second copy from either a laptop or desktop computer that he/she owns/leases. The software may be used only for work-related purposes and only during the term of the agreement (including any renewals)."

If your wife's school has a School Agreement, then they have to have asked for Work at Home rights (which is free), then the main desktop applications they are licensed for have Work at Home rights (which would include Publisher if they've licensed that under the School Agreement). The person who orders the School Agreement will know how to order the Work at Home rights - it's a simple form.

And, if all else fails, you can buy an Academic Open licence from your normal Microsoft Academic supplier - some of whom run an online shop (see the links towards the top of the page mentioned above).

Ray

re: Buying Microsoft software - how to get the best deal

Richard Cornwell — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:08:08 GMT

My wife has just started a teaching job and needs to use MS Publisher on our home PC. What is the most cost-effective way to do this? Is a single open license available, or is MS Publisher available via her school using Work at Home licensing rights?

Thanks

Richard