New Packaged Services for SA

Consulting services focused on Exchange deployments and “business value” have been added to the list of Packaged Services available with Software Assurance (SA), Microsoft’s upgrade and maintenance offering. The new services could help generate leads for service partners, particularly partners with expertise in Exchange, Office, and SharePoint, and could also attract partners who specialize in management and process consulting.

Packaged Services are a set of free consulting engagements, delivered by partners or by Microsoft Consulting Services, typically aimed at helping customers plan complex deployment projects. The services cover only deployment planning, not implementation, but partners can sell additional deployment and follow-on services to customers.

In May 2008, Microsoft substantially reworked the program, giving it the Packaged Services name, establishing the number of seats covered by SA as the basis for entitlements, and better defining the specific services available. At that time, two services were available: Desktop Deployment Planning Services, focused on Windows and Office deployments, and SharePoint Deployment Planning Services, focused on SharePoint.