Communications Server 2007 Packaging, Licensing, and Pricing

Office Communications Server 2007 requires users to have two different CALs to access all product features-a notable difference from the product’s predecessor, Live Communications Server (LCS) 2005. Even though first time customers will find Communications Server 2007 substantially more expensive than its predecessor, customers with Software Assurance (SA) on LCS 2005 will receive licenses to both CALs while their SA payments stay constant for the remaining term of their volume purchase agreement-a more generous arrangement than Microsoft has offered in the past under similar circumstances.

Features and Costs

As with LCS 2005, use of Communications Server 2007 requires both clients and servers to be licensed. However, most customers will find that most of their Communications Server licensing costs-typically at least 80%-are client-related. (For a chart detailing all the licenses available for Communications Server 2007, see “Communications Server 2007 Licenses“. For an illustration showing which licenses are necessary in a demonstration scenario, see “Communications Server 2007 Licensing“.)