Microsoft Open Business Licensing Guide

Microsoft Open Business Licensing

Microsoft Open Business Licensing allows businesses to purchase Microsoft products at discount prices with a minimum of just five licenses. One of the benefits of Open Business compared to Open Volume is that you don’t need such a large up-front volume commitment, but you still get the savings and convenience of the licensing program. After your initial order with SoftwareMedia you can purchase additional licenses within the program with no minimum quantity, as long as you are within your two year term.

Minimum Requirements

Minimum of 5 Licenses (licenses can be mixed and matched).

Media

A software license grants you the right to run or access a software program, but it does not come with the program itself. In order to obtain the media, you must log onto Microsoft Licensing Center and register. There you will be able to either download the media for all Open Licenses that you have purchased. Or you can purchase the media for $25 if you’d like the actual CD/DVD (also purchased through EOpen). You are entitled to one media pack for the program you purchased Open Licenses for. If you want more than one media, you may purchase Additional Media for a higher price.

Software Assurance

You have the option to purchase your licenses with Software Assurance (SA) or without. Software Assurance is Microsoft’s maintenance plan which comes with 24 hour support along with access to new versions that are released during your term.

24×7 Support
Your IT staff will have the support they need if problems arise, anytime, day or night.
New Version Rights
Get new software versions that are released during your term at no additional cost
Deployment Planning
Get an interactive session of Desktop Deployment Planning to learn the most advanced techniques, processes and tools in Office and Windows.
Training Vouchers
Get vouchers for training courses from Microsoft Certified Partners for Learning Solutions
E-Learning
Get exclusive access to Microsoft E-Learning Online for visually engaging training
Home Use
Employees can install desktop applications like Microsoft Office Suites or the individual Microsoft applications on their home computer.

Software Assurance coverage is available for two years or until the end of the term of Open License authorization number, whichever comes first. Visit Microsoft’s website for more benefits and details about Software Assurance.

For more information or to buy licenses through SoftwareMedia see Microsoft Open License Program.

Buying Microsoft Open Business Licensing

To buy now, see Microsoft Open Business Licenses. Requirements for licensing a server application or system are slightly different than licensing other Microsoft programs. See the examples below.

Licensing a Regular Microsoft Program
Licensing a regular Microsoft program such as Microsoft Office is straightforward. You need one license for each person or computer. After you purchase the licenses, register and create an account with Microsoft Licensing Center to download the media.

Example

Your small business needs 15 copies of Office 2007 Enterprise and 5 copies of Office 2007 Small Business. You decide to buy all 20 licenses with Software Assurance. Here’s what you need:

Qty

Product

Office 2007 Enterprise – License & SA

Office 2007 Small Business – License & SA

Licensing a Microsoft Server Product

For Microsoft Server products you need to buy a server license for each operating system environment, as well as a Client Access License (CAL) for each user or device that will access the program. After you purchase the licenses, register and create an account with Microsoft Licensing Center to download the media.

Example

You need Exchange Server 2007 Standard for 5 employees. You decide to purchase the licenses without Software Assurance. Here’s what you need:

Qty

Product

Exchange Server 2007 Standard – Server License

Exchange Server 2007 Standard – User CAL

With this example, you have the option to buy an External Connector which would grant access to the Exchange Server by an unlimited number of external users such as business partners, suppliers, or customers. Read more on External Connector.

Often times you also have the option to buy a Processor License. A Processor License includes access for an unlimited number of users to connect from either inside the local area network or wide area network or outside the firewall. These are typically expensive, so read more on Processor Licenses to see if they make sense for your business.

Re-Ordering

If you’ve already met the five license minimum requirement through SoftwareMedia and later need to purchase additional licenses, you can do so with no minimum requirements as long as you are still within your term. However, if you have purchased your previous licenses through a different provider, and would like to re-order through us, you will need to meet your 5 license minimum once again (or re-order with your current license provider).

To view all available products, see Open Business Licenses.

Contact our Microsoft Certified Professionals at 1-800-474-1045 ext 3