Software Assurance Support and Training Benefits Cut

• Some accrued Software Assurance benefits will be modified or eliminated starting in 2020.
• Planning and training vouchers are being eliminated and replaced with the FastTrack program and online training tools.
• Support incidents will be eliminated, and only customers with large agreements will receive additional support.
• Customers should plan to use vouchers they have already earned as soon as practical.

In Sept. 2019, Microsoft announced significant reductions in Software Assurance (SA) benefits for IT planning, training, and support, giving customers less than five months’ notice before benefit modifications take effect. While the changes impact customers midstream in their volume licensing contracts (effectively changing the terms of agreements retroactively), the SA benefits affected represent only a small portion of SA’s overall value. Customers with accrued SA benefits should take steps to extract the value of the benefits, and should determine the need to budget for the benefits that are being retired.