Software Assurance Renewal –
May through August 25, 2006

Do you have Microsoft FrontPage, Project, Visio, server or other software that you plan to upgrade in the next three years?

Information Technology manages and administers two Microsoft licensing agreements – Campus Agreement 3.0 and Academic Select Agreement 6.4. Campus Agreement allows UW faculty and staff to install or upgrade to the latest versions of Office Professional® for Windows and for Mac over the term of the agreement. For no additional cost departments may upgrade the Windows operating system.

The other licensing program, Microsoft Academic Select 6.4, enables faculty and staff to purchase licenses and Software Assurance to run software that is not covered by Campus Agreement. Some popular products that are not covered by Campus Agreement are FrontPage*, OneNote, Project, Visio, VStudio, and various server software.

Software Assurance (SA) adds the right to run the latest version of any licensed product. Software Assurance is usually purchased at the same time as a new product license.

Users may purchase Software Assurance renewal for Microsoft product licenses beginning in May, 2006. If SA is renewed, the product for which it is purchased may be upgraded at no additional cost for the term of the new Select Agreement 6.4 – three years. Users will have until August 25, 2006, to renew Software Assurance. Users who allow their Software Assurance coverage to lapse must acquire License & Software Assurance before they can reacquire SA. Users may not purchase Software Assurance for products that were previously paid for but not enrolled in Software Assurance.

As an example, let’s assume a user has Visio Pro 2003 and enrolled it in Software Assurance when it was purchased. If the user renews SA, he or she may upgrade to the next version of Visio Pro when it is released and may also upgrade to any versions released through July 2009 without additional licensing costs. If the user doesn’t renew SA and decides later to upgrade to the latest version of Visio Pro, a new license will have to be purchased. New licenses typically cost more than Software Assurance alone.

In the previous example, Software Assurance could be renewed for about $36.54 and would allow upgrades to the product until 2009. In comparison, a new license without SA (which means the product is not upgradeable) would cost approximately $42.53. If a new license and software assurance were purchased together at a later time, the cost would be around $54.82.**

If you aren’t sure whether you should take advantage of Software Assurance, the rule of thumb is, “If you expect to upgrade your desktop software within 3 ½ years, it could be more cost effective to purchase or renew Software Assurance.”

To purchase Software Assurance, send an IDR including the username, full name, part number, item description, and price to the IT Information Desk, Ivinson Bldg 140. Product and pricing information is available at http://www.uwyo.edu/InfoTech/services/sales/software/saprices.htm

If you aren’t sure whether you purchased Software Assurance when you bought a license from Information Technology, call the IT Information Desk at 766-3686 or email css-itfrontdesk@uwyo.edu . She will help you find out the current status of your product license.

Please see the Winter 2006 IT Newsletter article "Software Assurance Renewal Approaching –" at http://www.uwyo.edu/infotech/aboutit/newsletter/winter2006.htm#sa for some additional information.

– Information Technology
 

*Microsoft will discontinue the distribution of FrontPage in late 2006. Discussions are taking place at the University of Wyoming to determine the most appropriate approach to provide ongoing support and maintenance of Web publishing for the institution. Another communication will be posted on UW’s Microsoft Select Software Licensing pages that describes the current situation, the options, and any recommendations. The WebNews (uwyo.edu/WebNews) site contains up-to-date information about Web publishing at UW. Check this site for news related to the current state of FrontPage servers and support, Web publishing, and utilities that are available for site change requests.

**These examples are provided using today’s current price quote and are subject to change without notice. Information Technology makes no price guarantees and is not responsible for fluctuations in pricing and availability from the vendor.

Before clicking on a link in an email you should always verify that the link is legitimate, even if the message appears to be from Information Technology. IT will always digitally sign emails that are sent to all Employees. Information on verifying digital signatures can be found in our Winter 2006 Newsletter at http://www.uwyo.edu/InfoTech/aboutit/newsletter/winter2006.htm#digitalsigg