MSDN Platforms Aids Development, Test Licensing

A new Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscription called MSDN Platforms provides software development and IT professionals with nonproduction use rights for OSs and server software. MSDN Platforms is substantially less expensive than most other MSDN alternatives and could particularly benefit test and development personnel who do not require the latest Visual Studio tools, as well as those requiring a substitute for TechNet subscriptions, which are being phased out. However, customers should choose MSDN subscriptions carefully, because transitions between MSDN Platforms and other MSDN subscriptions have not been made available.

The MSDN Platforms Offering

Introduced in June 2013, MSDN Platforms licenses nonproduction use of OSs and server software, but unlike most of the other MSDN subscription offerings, MSDN Platforms does not license Visual Studio (VS), the most widely used integrated development environment for Microsoft’s platforms. Like the other MSDN offerings, MSDN Platforms is a per-user subscription, carries a higher price for the initial term than for successive renewal terms, and provides perpetual use rights (meaning that if a user discontinues her subscription, she can continue to use whatever software was current at the time her subscription lapsed).