Choosing Volume Licensing Programs for Office

Organizations can choose among several volume licensing programs for an Office purchase. These programs and the general trade-offs between them are described in more detail in other Directions on Microsoft reports. This chapter outlines the most important considerations when buying Office suites through the primary programs for commercial organizations.

Enterprise Agreement Simplifies Compliance, Budgeting

For Office purchases, organizations with 250 or more PCs will usually consider an EA. An EA is a three-year, renewable contract that lets an organization license almost any Microsoft business software or service. The most widespread form of EA is most commonly referred to as a desktop EA. (Its official Microsoft name is “Enterprise Enrollment.”)

In a desktop EA, an organization can license Office suites organization-wide. An EA helps ensure compliance with licensing terms and delivers a predictable annual cost per device, which can simplify budgeting and procurement. Furthermore, desktop EAs typically offer the best price per license, particularly when an EA combines Office with organization-wide purchases of Windows Professional upgrade licenses and CAL suites, which license Windows Server, Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and other server products.