Microsoft Software Assurance

Microsoft Software Assurance (SA) is a Microsoft maintenance program aimed at business users who use Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and other server and desktop applications. The core premise behind SA is to give users the ability to spread payments over several years, while offering "free" upgrades to newer versions during that time period.

Microsoft differentiates License and Software Assurance. Customers may purchase (depending on the program), a license without Software Assurance, Software Assurance only (but only to be used in combination with an existing license), both a License and Software Assurance together. The three possibilities are not always available, depending on the program (single license or volume license).

Software Assurance is a comprehensive Volume Licensing program that includes an extensive set of technologies, services, rights, and benefits to help you and your organization get the most out of your investments in IT. Software Assurance spans a broad range of Microsoft software and services, including Windows, Microsoft Office, Exchange, System Center, SQL Server, and many others. With Software Assurance, you get the tools and training you need to do more with the IT investments you plan to make as well as those you have already made. Software Assurance is available exclusively through Microsoft Volume Licensing—the most cost-effective, flexible, and manageable way to acquire Microsoft software and cloud services.

The full list of benefits, effective March 2006, are as follows:

All benefits are generated by a Benefits Administrator at the customer organization and can be managed on the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center.

Software Assurance is often criticized for its expense and the lack of "free" software upgrades within the contract period. The development period between major operating system versions often exceeds three years, requiring customers to renew their software assurance for another contract period, in order to get the next upgrade for "free".

Software Assurance was part of Licensing 6.0 and initially only provided upgrades, but around the time of the Microsoft Office 2003 release, more benefits were added. In March 2006, Microsoft added Windows Vista Enterprise Edition and Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs. In June 2011 Microsoft added Windows Thin PC, a desktop virtualization application that allows locked down versions of Windows 7 to run on older hardware.

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