What's New in Volume Licensing 6.0?

In the same way that Microsoft comes out with different versions of its software, it also periodically creates new versions of its volume licensing plans.

The latest version is called Volume Licensing 6.0, and each of the plans has a similar designation (such as Select License 6). Like software, a plan might sometimes get a “dot upgrade,” such as Volume Licensing 6.1. Multiple versions of licensing plans might be available simultaneously, and organizations may still order software under old plans that they have renewed for an additional term, if the terms of an older plan fit their needs better. However, Microsoft periodically stops offering new agreements for old plans. New agreements under Select 5, for example, were no longer offered after July 31, 2002.

The major change between Volume Licensing 5 and Volume Licensing 6.0 was the announcement of Software Assurance, a new upgrade program that replaces all other software upgrade programs. It is described in detail in the chapter “The Software Assurance Upgrade Program“.