You Have Till 31 July to Make Microsoft Licensing Decisions

Microsoft set a deadline of 31 July 2002 for customers to acquire upgrade protection on their existing licenses. Evaluate your options and follow Gartner's advice immediately.

31 July 2002 marks the deadline for Microsoft customers to acquire upgrade protection on their existing licenses. After that date, Select version 5, Upgrade Advantage (UA) and Software Assurance (SA) on licenses acquired prior to 1 August 2002 will no longer be available.

Enterprises that don't evaluate their options and take appropriate action before 31 July could pay up to 45 percent more to repurchase their licenses the next time they wish to upgrade. After 31 July, enterprises can purchase new licenses with or without SA, but they can never upgrade the pre-existing licenses, only replace them. Gartner urges customers planning upgrades to Microsoft licenses to take the following actions immediately:

• If you contemplate upgrades to noncurrent version licenses, consider entering into a new Open version 6 or Select version 5 volume purchasing agreement with Microsoft to maximize the upgrade protection period. Although UA can be purchased under Open version 6, it cannot be purchased under a Version 6 Select agreement. Microsoft has created a Select version 5 amendment to expedite this process. Large account resellers should be able to give you the details.
• Evaluate your upgrade plans for noncurrent version products. If you plan upgrades in the near term, consider purchasing UA on them prior to the 31 July deadline. Examples include Office 97, Windows NT 4.0 Server, Exchange 5.5 and SQL Server 7.5.
• Evaluate your upgrade plans for current version products, and if you plan upgrades in the near term, consider purchasing SA on them before the deadline. Examples include Office 2000, Office XP, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional, Exchange 2000 and SQL Server 2000.
• Evaluate special Microsoft promotion and incentive offerings available through 31 July 2002 on the Windows Server operating system, Microsoft Project, and the suite of Microsoft Developer tools or Microsoft Developer Network licenses.

Analytical Source: Alvin Park, Gartner Research

Recommended Reading and Related Research

•      "Microsoft UA and Select v.5: Won’t Be Available for Long" (E-15-3138). Provides details on Select version 5 and version 6 and the differences between UA and SA. By Alvin Park

• "License Strategies: Windows NT 4.0, 2000 and .NET Server" (TG-15-4087). Analyzes enterprise options for maintaining Microsoft's Windows Server operating system licenses, including programs that require action by 31 July 2002. By Alvin Park

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