We recently met with a school director and their technology provider to discuss a solution that had Microsoft Licensing implications. When we asked about the schools software licensing, there was an uncomfortable shifting in the chair, a bit of hem and haw, followed by a very generic explanation regarding a previous IT provider a few years back and a school agreement. You get the picture….
What we heard was probably quite a bit different than what the administrator understood. And we left it at that. We are not the Microsoft Licensing police and frankly Microsoft Licensing is so ridiculously complicated that it takes a team of New York Lawyers to explain it, and a few CPA’s to calculate the costs. Alright, that is an exaggeration, but not much of one.
Having said that, I submit the time has come, in the world of Education that overlooking your Microsoft Licensing is really quite inexcusable. And frankly, unless you value your time at less than minimum wage, it really makes sense to just sign the agreement, pay the minimal licensing costs, and get on with life.
If you use the correct type of licensing, the process will literally save you time and money; not to mention that warm and fuzzy feeling you will have knowing you are playing by the rules.
Having seen firsthand the hoops that some go through to avoid legal licensing, it really makes no sense. You can now buy an umbrella Microsoft agreement that not only covers all computers in the school with Operating Systems, and core CALS, but it also provides a copy of Microsoft Office Professional Plus. Furthermore there are home use rights to boot.
And here is a little known secret. When you initiate a school agreement, there are a number of additional software licenses that magically appear in your Volume Licensing Center. Take for example the MultiPoint Server license and CAL’s for connecting to it. That’s right, they are included. Just try buying that software over the counter by itself.
Some school agreements also come with subscriptions to Microsoft educational titles, membership in the MSDN Academic Alliance, and Live@EDU services. Plus there are other Microsoft solutions such as the InTune Management software, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and others that are a fraction of the cost when associated with your Annual School Agreement.
And you can literally receive an entire truckload of donated computers, which as soon as they enter your building are also covered. And did I mention any Virtual Machines that you create using Microsoft Hyper-V technology – they are covered as well.
Like most of you, I have a real problem with paying $450.00 for a copy of Microsoft Office Professional Plus in the shrink wrapped box. And that is a challenge in the for-profit world. But educational titles are so incredibly cheap, it takes way more resources to find ways around licensing than it does to do it properly.
Enough already, while the odds of a Software Audit are very, very small; all it takes is the phone call of one disgruntled staff member, former vendor, or competitor to the software alliance and things could get real ugly.
If you have a software licensing question or need guidance on selecting the right school agreement, please call us. As a freestanding charter school, you have options that are both sensible and affordable. And you might be surprised at all the freebies you get for being legal.
Do the right thing!
Oh, one last thing. You might consider making your school agreement align with the eRate fiscal year. Eligible expenses are more easily allocated and reimbursed when they line up with July 1 – Jun 30 timeframes of the eRate program.
