Select License Programs

Select volume license plans are popular with companies that have at least 250 PCs. Discounts can be twice as generous as the discounts for similar products in Open License. Select plans cover the widest spectrum of business software, and purchase of Software Assurance (SA) is optional. Many organizations purchase desktop software through a program like Open Value or an Enterprise Agreement, which includes SA and makes it easier to manage desktop licenses, but they use Select to purchase server licenses, which are easier to manage and track (because servers are usually run from a central location).

In addition, while servers can be purchased in Open Value and Enterprise Agreements, some customers will find that their discounts through Select are better.

Select is Microsoft’s oldest enterprise-oriented volume licensing plan; Microsoft added a new version, Select Plus, in Oct. 2008.

Getting a Select Discount

Calculating Select discounts is relatively complex, and the calculation varies between the two versions of Select, but discount levels are the same in both versions. Select has four levels of discount, with Level A providing the smallest discount and Level D the greatest. Select discounts are based on the number of points that a customer earns in each product pool. (For background on this discount approach, see the chart “Pools and Points“.) As a general guide, discounts for products within a particular pool require the following point levels: