What is Software Assurance?
Software Assurance (SA) is an inclusive Volume License (VL) program that includes a unique set of technologies, services, and rights to help you use Microsoft's software products more efficiently. SA can be seen as one of the most beneficial investments in your IT infrastructure. Utilizing these features can help you take advantage of all Microsoft's software has to offer. From reducing costs to the ability to maintain a responsive environment, there are quite a few different reasons to consider SA. There are also a few different ways to obtain SA, but we will be covering the most popular option which is attaching it with your product license.
Office
Office + SA includes:
- New Version Rights – automatically upgrades licenses to new releases for a 2 year term.
- Office Online Server (OOS) – browser-based versions of Office Apps.
- Step-up Licensing – migrate from a lower-level edition to a higher-level (i.e. Office Standard -> Office Profesional Plus) by paying only the price difference.
Windows Enterprise
Windows Enterprise + SA includes:
- New Version Rights – See above.
- Windows To Go – fully manageable corporate desktop running Windows Enterprise on a bootable USB drive. Use Windows To Go on any device that is licensed with SA for Windows.
- Windows Thin PC – a smaller footprint version of Windows that allows businesses to turn existing PCs as thin clients, removing the need for new thin client hardware. (Applies only to devices licensed with SA for Windows)
Windows/SQL Server & Cloud
Server + SA includes:
- New Version Rights – See above.
- Backup for Disaster Recovery – provides additional licenses for servers used as offline (also known as "cold") backups in case of disastrous events. For each server license with SA, you have the right to install the same software product on a cold backup server.
- License Mobility – deploy certain server apps on-premises or on the cloud in an Authorized Mobility Partner's datacenter without the need of additional licenses.
- SQL Secondary Instance – rights to run a passive secondary instance of SQL Server as a failover. Applies only to SQL licenses that have SA attached.
