Monthly Archives: April 2018

Article update: We created a new website called MSCloudlicensing to help SPLA and CSP partners understand the different program options and use rights available to them. The site is designed to be a collaborative platform,  which includes a forum to ask and answer licensing questions, document library, and licensing articles.  It’s more in depth than a simple blog. Check it out, it’s free!  www.mscloudlicensing.com 

Document Library: Easy to read whitepapers on licensing and best practices. What really happens in an audit? How are other service providers handling CSP and Azure? AWS licensing? https://mscloudlicensing.com/document-library/

Forum: Experts always review and answer your licensing questions. https://mscloudlicensing.com/forum/

Articles: Most of the splalicensing.com articles you are used to reading and many more on CSP, Azure, AWS, and other cloud providers.
https://mscloudlicensing.com/subscription/

It’s Microsoft’s fiscal year end, which means it’s time for the auditors to dust off their pens and pocket protectors to find out which SPLA partners are under licensed, over licensed (yeah right) or misunderstood (every SPLA customer that has ever signed a SPLA agreement) the license use rights.  If you need assistance, please let us know! Info@splalicensing.com and we can help you navigate the treacherous waters called Microsoft licensing.

Thanks for reading.

SPLA Man

Article update: We created a new website called MSCloudlicensing to help SPLA and CSP partners understand the different program options and use rights available to them. The site is designed to be a collaborative platform,  which includes a forum to ask and answer licensing questions, document library, and licensing articles.  It’s more in depth than a simple blog. Check it out, it’s free!  www.mscloudlicensing.com 

• Document Library: Easy to read whitepapers on licensing and best practices. What really happens in an audit? How are other service providers handling CSP and Azure? AWS licensing? https://mscloudlicensing.com/document-library/
  • Forum: Experts always review and answer your licensing questions. https://mscloudlicensing.com/forum/
  • Articles: Most of the splalicensing.com articles you are used to reading and many more on CSP, Azure, AWS, and other cloud providers.
  https://mscloudlicensing.com/subscription/

VCPP Update:

Thought we would provide an update to the VCPP program for VMWare.  The five point bundle in VCPP has been discontinued April 15, 2018.  There is a 6 month grace period for current partners.  Important dates:

April 15 2018 –  End of availability for new providers

September 19, 2018 – End of general support for 5.5

October 31, 2018 – completely removed

How are you limiting new customers for 5.5 bundle?

Starting April usage reporting, the bundle will not be available for any new service providers.  It’s also in the product use guide for VCPP.  If you were already using it, have the signed contract, you can continue to use it for 6 months.

Hope this provide insight.   Questions?  Ask your VCCP reseller – SPLA man only knows SPLA and CSP 🙂

(1I guess the better question to ask Is the CSP program right for your business?   When Microsoft announced the QMTH program last year, I remember thinking – finally!  Microsoft is allowing hosting partners the ability to resell Windows 10 in a multitenant environment!  Let the flood gates open!  Well, the flood gates opened.  Fast forward to today and Microsoft is a bit of a pickle.  Authorizing a “partner”  for CSP Direct is one thing, making sure they are successful is another.

Has Microsoft helped or hurt your hosting practice?  On one hand, the ability to offer Windows 10 is great but on the other hand, is it worth the headache of CSP?  Are you sure you want to get in the licensing business or the reseller business?  From the conversations I have had with hosting providers, CSP has been a difficult sell.   There’s a lot of investment resources, support, and licensing to be able to educate your customers on a low margin transaction.  Signing up for CSP Direct to become QMTH authorized is probably not going to help long turn.  Maybe CSP Indirect is the way to go?

CSP Indirect allows you to partner with another reseller who can offer the licenses on your behalf.  I like to think of it as white labeling their authorization to your customers.  The reseller provides the support but you control the billing.  There are also resellers who get creative – they provide the licenses, you provide the support.  That may be the best route since managed services brings in a higher margin than software sales.  The drawback of CSP Indirect is you are no longer eligible for QMTH.

What’s ironic is Microsoft finally solved the VDI question hosting providers have been asking for over a decade but now unleashed an entire new problem in CSP.  Maybe some day this will all make sense.  In the meantime, thanks for reading.

SPLA Man