License Agreements

Information for departments

Already own Microsoft products?

Departments own licenses to the latest versions and rights to future maintenance patches for the Microsoft desktop and server products acquired through the Enterprise agreement. Departments can continue to use those licenses indefinitely on machines they own, including any new product versions released up to July 31, 2003.

For department-specific information regarding the current licensing agreement with Microsoft, see www.wisc.edu/wisc/UW_Madison/ms_contract_issues/deptinfo.html.

Availability of Microsoft products after July 31

After July 31, 2003, departments can purchase Microsoft products through WISC and the Microsoft Select program.

Negotiations continue with Microsoft on campus server and client access license issues. Please check back here for updates.

Scenarios

Here are a few scenarios to help your department make an informed decision on what types of licenses or software assurance are right for you:

1. If your department is content to run Windows XP and Office XP, or any earlier versions of Windows or Office, on your workstations for the foreseeable future:
   
   All departments own perpetual licenses for Windows XP, Office XP, and Office X Mac, and any previous versions of those products. You can continue to use those products on your departmentally-owned machines indefinitely.
   
   
2. If your department would like the option to stay at the most current versions of Windows and/or Office:
   
   Your department will need to purchase Software Assurance (SA) by October 24, 2003 on as many workstations as you would like to have the ability to upgrade. SA is only available for a three-year term, and grants you the right to the most current version of a particular product for those three years. On July 31st, 2006, you will own the license to the latest released version.
   
   Cost to purchase Software Assurance for a three-year term for these products is:
   • Windows XP Pro --- $47.81
   • Office XP Pro --- $45.11
   • Office Mac 10 --- $42.80

These prices are subject to change as Microsoft releases new price lists.

For more listings of products and pricing, please refer to DoIT's list of Microsoft Select products.


3. If your department does not want to commit to purchasing software assurance by October 24th on any of your workstations, yet still would like the option to upgrade to a future version of Windows or Office at some later date:
   
   If you do not purchase SA, you will need to purchase a new license for any new version of Office or Windows that you wish to install on any of your workstations.
   
   The cost to purchase new licenses for these products now is:
   
   • Windows XP Pro --- $54.88
   • Office XP Pro --- $51.79
   • Office Mac 10 --- $49.22
   
   These are the current prices for full licenses, and Microsoft may change these prices in the future. For more listings of products and pricing, please refer to DoIT's list of Microsoft Select products.
   
   Please keep in mind that buying a new license will cost more than having enrolled in SA.

Other questions

Will your department need to keep track of licenses?
You will need to track your Select license purchases in case of potential audit. If you purchase through DoIT, we will maintain your purchase records for you. If you purchase these products through another vendor, it will be up to you to maintain those records and provide proof of ownership in case of audit.

If your entire department is considering entering into a campus department lease, is it cost-effective vs. purchasing SA?
Possibly not. While we cannot publicly disclose the lease costs due to being bound by a Microsoft non-disclosure agreement, we can tell you that the three-year cost of the lease is much higher than purchasing three years of Software Assurance for just MS Office. If you need coverage for Office and Windows, or if many of your staff have multiple computers, then the lease option may be a viable one. However you do surrender the end-of-contract ownership rights of SA if you opt into a lease. If you want detailed lease costs, please contact DoIT's licensing specialist, Kolleen Apelgren, at kapelgren@doit.wisc.edu.

I would like to have work-at-home use rights for Office -- what are my work-at-home rights?

• If your department owns your machine at home
  The user may continue to use Office XP (or any previous version of Office) on that machine. Departments will need to enroll that machine under Software Assurance to obtain rights to any newer versions of Office. The one exception to this is that if the machine at home is a portable and is assigned to that user at least 80% of the time, the user may legally use a copy of whichever version of Office they are using in their campus office without that machine having to be counted towards a separate license.
  
• If your machine at home is owned by you personally
  The right to use Microsoft products acquired by departments through the current contract on personally-owned machines ends on July 31, 2003. Your department must specifically own a Select License for your office machine in order for you to retain work-at-home rights. If your department does not purchase Software Assurance (or a new Select license at a later time) for your office machine, you must remove the software from your system. Star Office is a reasonable substitute for Office and is available as a free download from the DoIT TechStore to all faculty and staff.

Complete details on work-at-home rights

My department will be purchasing new computers in 2004. What do we need to do in order to legally run Office on these systems?
You may install the latest version of Office XP released by July 31 without any additional cost to you. DoIT will continue to distribute media for Office XP.

The new computer should come with a version of Windows installed on it. Your purchase receipt will serve as your license to use and own it.

If you want to upgrade to the newest versions of Office and/or Windows, you would need to purchase new licenses as those versions are released. (Should you purchase a new license, you may desire to purchase Software Assurance at that time as well.)

Projected cost info and links on how to purchase Software Assurance, new licenses, and media
Pricing for Software Assurance is included in www.wisc.edu/wisc/UW_Madison/ms_contract_issues/departments/prodandprice.html

Ordering information can be found at www.wisc.edu/wisc/UW_Madison/ms_contract_issues/departments/orderprocess.html