Whether you’re signing a new SPLA or renewing your old one, timing is everything. When you sign an agreement, you are bound by the use rights at the time of sigining. For example, if you sign a new SPLA in April, 2013 you will be bound by the SPUR (product use rights) for April 2013.
Why is this important? As with technology, licensing is always evolving. As an example, with the release of SQL 2012, Microsoft switched from a processor based licensing structure to a core based licensing structure. Since the 2013 SPUR only has core licensing (not processor), you will be forced to license by core when you sign a new SPLA regardless of which version you have installed. In other words, anyone (whether renewing or new) who signs an agreement after December 31st, 2012 will be forced to license by core.
Windows 2012 is another change that can impact your usage reporting. With the release of Windows 2012 last August, anyone who signs a new SPLA after August 31st, 2012 will be forced to license by the 2012 use rights. You can run previous versions such as 2008, but you will need to license by the current SPUR.
What happens if you sign a new SPLA in August before the license change? You will have 3 years (SPLA is a 3 year agreement) to license the old way. The catch? If you migrate any servers to the 2012 version you will have to license those servers by the 2012 use rights. For example, if you are running SQL 2008 R2 Standard edition and decide to migrate to SQL 2012 Standard edition, the new server will need to be reported by the core not by processor!
Ask in advance for the licensing impact before renewing your SPLA agreement. Better yet, follow this blog for the latest updates and you will be well prepared!
Thanks for reading-
SPLA Man
SPLA Licensing 
google.com
January 8, 2014 at 4:48 pm
Just desire to say your article is as astounding. The clarity in your post is
just nice and i can assume you’re an expert on this subject.
Well with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post.
Thanks a million and please continue the enjoyable work.
hi-ho.ne.jp
January 13, 2014 at 4:43 pm
What’s up colleagues, pleasant article and pleasant arguments commented at this place, I am actually enjoying by these.
IT Services Companies
January 16, 2014 at 5:49 pm
Hello! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick
shout out and tell you I really enjoy reading your posts.
Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same
topics? Thanks a lot!
splaman
January 17, 2014 at 6:41 am
Thanks for reading. There’s not a lot of information on SPLA. My friend at http://www.microsoftlicensereview.com does a great job explaining volume licensing. Join the hosting community Microsoft.com/hosting. This will provide you with information and Microsoft hosted webinars. Keep reading, I have a lot more articles to write!
faustozhsn.blog.com
January 17, 2014 at 11:48 pm
excellent points altogether, you simply gained a new reader.
What would you recommend in regards to your put up that you just made a few days in the past?
Any positive?
splaman
January 19, 2014 at 8:48 am
Thank you. Appreciate you stopping by. Which post are you referencing?
Halina
January 18, 2014 at 1:32 am
Hey there! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established
blog. Is it hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I
can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about
setting up my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any ideas or
suggestions? Thanks
splaman
January 18, 2014 at 7:17 pm
Thanks for stopping by! It is easy to start a blog. What are you passionate about? I created this site based on my own experiences. Setting up a blog is easy, finding time to write can be challenging. I use wordpress which seems to work. Best of luck and happy to help further.
Francis
January 21, 2014 at 3:19 am
Hi there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and
tell you I genuinely enjoy reading your articles. Can you recommend
any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same topics?
Thanks for your time!
splaman
January 21, 2014 at 11:29 am
Hi Francis
Check out my latest post (vendor sites). Hope this helps
Elisha
January 26, 2014 at 5:07 am
A person necessarily assist to make critically posts I might
state. That is the first time I frequented your web page and to this point?
I amazed with the analysis you made to create
this particular submit incredible. Magnificent activity!
splaman
January 29, 2014 at 12:41 pm
Thank you Elisha. Keep well and happy to help.
bitpiles.com
January 28, 2014 at 6:23 pm
You are so cool! I don’t think I’ve truly read anything like
that before. So great to discover another person with some original thoughts on this topic.
Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This
website is something that’s needed on the internet, someone with
a little originality!
splaman
January 29, 2014 at 12:40 pm
Thank you for the nice words and for reading. Let me know if I can help in any way.
Trey
March 6, 2014 at 9:21 am
This website really has all of the info I needed concerning this subject and didn’t know who to
ask.
splaman
March 10, 2014 at 8:20 am
Great! Thank you for the compliment. You can always reach out to me blaforge@splalicensing.com with any questions.