The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/27607
CASE STUDIES Leveraging Your Enterprise Agreement this strategic weapon? What is Software Assurance and how can it be utilized? Good questions for the new EA customer; even better for those of us who are renewing our EA for the third or fourth time. During a recent EA True-Up, I took the opportunity to get reacquainted with our agreement to ensure that we’re taking full advantage of all the benefits we know about and to rediscover those we do not. C IN CASE YOU MISSED IT I asked my account representative to treat me like a new customer and go through the benefits of an Enterprise Agreement compared to simple license management. While most of what I heard was old hat (I obviously wasn’t considering manually tracking licenses for 1,100 desktops), I was surprised by some of the things we could leverage through Software Assurance, a maintenance program included in the EA, that had slipped my mind or been underutilized. The most significant items that tend to get lost, simply because of the large number of the benefits available in the EA, are listed below. What struck me most, due to the timeliness of a pending project, was the ability to manipulate training days to allow for services with engineers in areas like SharePoint or Exchange. Additionally, we discovered a tax break that we’d been missing. • Training and Evaluation Licenses: Microsoft offers a limited number of complimentary training and evaluation copies of any product to help your budget. If you were afraid of trying Forefront or purchasing Office 2010 for trainers ahead of deployment, you need not concern yourself. You are entitled to: • 20 copies per software title for use in a dedicated training facility, and • 10 copies per software title for a 60-day evaluation. 36 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer ongratulations! You reached the magic number of 250 desktops, your Microsoft account rep gave you the pitch on the value of an Enterprise Agreement (EA) and you have taken the plunge. Now what? How do you leverage • Software Assurance (SA): With SA, you are future-proofing your investment. Whether you’re planning deployments or troubleshooting, this program provides valuable tools that drive the productivity of the firm by ensuring the stability of your application platforms. • Downloading Media: Sign up for a Tax Amendment through your large account reseller (LAR) and perform your downloads via the Microsoft Services website to avoid some taxes associated with media delivery. Check to see if your state offers this benefit. • Training Days: You have all kinds of training opportunities available through your EA. Did you know you can get 30 days of training for your staff through Microsoft’s licensed training partners? You can also convert three training days to one day of desktop deployment services that can be used on SharePoint, Exchange, Office 2010 or Windows 7. In addition, Software Assurance gives you access to e-learning opportunities for your end users to expand their skills. • New Amendments: There are certain amendments that are available for your agreement. Consider your options and what would apply to your firm. Some examples include the Line of Business Amendment that helps you get the right number of users licensed, the 365 Amendment that allows you to add the Cloud terms and conditions language to your agreement or the Tax Amendment that may allow you to be exempt from taxes. • TechNet: If you included this benefit in your agreement, there are extra hidden 24/7 Problem Resolution Support instances that expire annually, so you should use them prior to your standard EA support sessions. There is a limit on what they can be used for, but it’s certainly worth looking into. Enterprise Agreements’ 24/7 support sessions are good for three years. • Home User Rights: With the SA program, end users can download a home copy of Office and order a media CD/ DVD for backup for less than 15.00 USD. The firm is not