Microsoft’s Perpetual Licensing in CSP

Microsoft announced the availability of perpetual licensing for on-premise products through a limited-authorized channel. SoftwareOne was chosen by Microsoft as an early provider. Although the availability has now been extended to the whole market, SoftwareOne builds upon some months of experience and we’re here to provide a full breakdown of the program for indirect reseller partners and clients.

In the perpetual licensing program licenses only (L-only) are provided. There’s no option to add Software Assurance (SA). CSP Perpetual requires a one-time upfront purchase in contrast to traditional CSP being a monthly subscription model. The perpetual software licenses in CSP include popular desktop tools such as Visio, Project and the Office Suites as well as the Office components – e.g. Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Also included are infrastructure servers such as Windows Server, SQL Server, and Biztalk Server. Productivity servers include Exchange, SharePoint, Skype for Business and Project Server.

CSP Perpetual is recommended for every company currently purchasing License-only products through the OPEN channel. As OPEN License will be discontinued as a program after January 1, 2022, a switch to more modern CSP Perpetual is advisable. Licenses with SA can still be purchased via OPEN Value or OPEN Value Subscription as these programs persist. Nevertheless, also OPEN licenses with SA should be evaluated in terms of whether they can be transferred to a CSP subscription model.

Microsoft’s move to open the CSP program towards perpetual licenses provides a new level of flexibility for clients who have specific workloads they can’t move over to the cloud. The intent by Microsoft to offer software licenses in CSP is to meet customers wherever they are in their digital transformation. This enhancement provides a solution to a customer’s hybrid needs. Ordering software licenses for customers with a signed Microsoft Customer Agreement means customers no longer need to sign additional licensing agreements which accelerates order fulfillment and provides customers with immediate access to the software they need.

Indirect resellers are required to be the first point of contact for customer support issues directly related to procurement, license key access and activation and product media download / fulfillment of products. Technical support can be offered to customers directly through the reseller partner, pay-by-incident through Microsoft, or through SoftwareOne’s support solution.

In summary, the addition of software licenses within CSP allows partners to focus on offering diverse solutions and managed services to their customers. It also empowers customers’ transition to the cloud and gives partners the flexibility needed for hybrid cloud environments.

Expert Guidance on Licensing

To learn more about Microsoft’s Perpetual Licensing Program in CSP, visit our publisher advisory area.