Software Assurance Transition Timeline

The timeline below shows three scenarios by which organizations can obtain Software Assurance for their software in Microsoft’s volume licensing programs.

In Scenario 1, companies have or obtain software that meets the Software Assurance program’s “current platform” requirements, such as Office XP (obtained through their volume licensing program, and not through retail or OEM channels) running on Windows 2000 Professional. During the Launch Period, they can purchase Software Assurance, which will allow them to upgrade to the latest version during the term of their volume licensing agreement.

In Scenario 2, the customer has a non-current platform, but purchases Upgrade Advantage to cover the desktop operating system and Office. During the launch period they do not need to do anything. Upgrade Advantage licenses will be converted to Software Assurance licenses automatically and they can upgrade later.

In Scenario 3, the customer has a non-current platform and upgrades it to the current platform with version upgrades of individual products before Oct. 1. They can then buy Software Assurance during the launch period for any current products in their volume licensing agreement.