CSP Perpetual Licensing
CSP Perpetual Licensing
At the start of the year, we saw the retirement of the Open Licensing Program (OLP). This software agreement had been the mainstay for most small and medium businesses, local government and healthcare for over 20 years as it was a simple and efficient way to license software on a perpetual basis and as such proved incredibly popular. However, the technology sector is now dominated by mass adoption of modern cloud technologies, and this was accelerated further by the pandemic meaning that now all older legacy licensing is under threat of a similar end. This is why BIST recommend that all organisations now look to implement cloud first technologies, however what if you are not in a position to migrate to newer platforms? This is where CSP perpetual may assist you in the short-medium term until you are ready to move to the cloud.
Introducing CSP Perpetual Licensing
CSP perpetual is offered via the Microsoft CSP (Cloud Solution Provider) partner platform. This enables resellers to offer the full portfolio of cloud products to customers (Office 365, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Azure Service). Plus CSP perpetual enables resellers to sell on-premise perpetual software to customers and this includes downgrade rights to supported versions and license rollback and redeployment. In terms of buying CSP perpetual, this is purchased upfront with a one-time payment after which the client fully owns the license in perpetuity.
Set up takes only a matter of minutes. We simply need a few details such as your main domain name, contact and address details or if you already have a M365 tenancy in place, we can send a CSP invite which your global admin accepts. Once set up on our CSP, service licensing can be added almost immediately.
Available Products
Desktop Tools
Windows
Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 Upgrade
Office
Office Standard 2019
Office Professional Plus 2019
Office for Mac Standard 2019
Project and Visio
Project Standard and Professional 2019
Visio Standard and Professional 2019
Infrastructure Servers
Windows Server 2019
Standard and Datacenter Core Licenses
CALs and External Connector
RDS CALs and External Connector
RMS CALs and External Connector
SQL Server 2019
Standard Server License and CALs
Standard and Enterprise Core Licenses
Productivity Servers
Exchange Server 2019
Server License and Standard/Enterprise CALS
SharePoint Server 2019
Server License and Standard/Enterprise CALS
Skype for Business Server 2019
Server License and Standard/Enterprise/Plus CALS
Project Server 2019
Server License and CALs
Other products are also available: for example, BizTalk Server and the individual Office products.
*Please Note: CSP perpetual currently has Corporate/Government, Education and Non-profit Licensing
What are the differences between OLP and CSP perpetual?
Software Assurance cannot be added to CSP perpetual
CSP Perpetual is managed and download from the M365 Admin console not VLSC (Volume Licensing Service Centre) portal
Currently no specific government licensing (just Corporate, Non-Profit and Education)
Benefits to CSP Perpetual?
Its an affordable way to purchase Microsoft on-premise Licensing
Once set up on CSP, Licensing can be added in a matter of minutes (OLP was 72hrs)
Microsoft Customer Agreement is evergreen and there is no agreement to sign
Being on CSP means that all (cloud and on-premises) licensing can be managed in one central place
Full User product terms can be found here: https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/terms/productoffering
What if a customer needs Software assurance?
If as an organisation, you need the latest greatest version of software, or you need a particular Software assurance (SA) benefit (such as Azure Hybrid use rights). This can be purchased via an Open Value subscription which includes SA as standard.
What other options are available?
Although Open Licensing has retired, other Open agreements are still available namely Open Value (mentioned above) and Open Value Subscription (including school agreements). These are based on being managed in the older VLSC portal and customer signup normally for a three year period paying an agreed set annual amount for their licensing both of these agreements include SA as standard – However, this also means that this method (due to the added benefits e.g upgrade to new versions) are more expensive than CSP perpetual. Depending on the product, we can look at OEM but this is only for new devices and servers and OEM lacks the product coverage of CSP perpetual and Volume Licensing.
Still confused and want to learn more? Our Cloud and Licensing Specialist will guide you through the best options for your organisation. Contact: david@bist.co.uk or alternatively, please complete our contact form below.