Understanding the Enterprise Agreement Program

An Enterprise Agreement (EA) lets organizations with 250 or more PCs license almost any Microsoft business-related offering. With an EA, an organization can license all its PCs for Microsoft’s most important software at a predictable annual cost, simplifying budgeting, procurement, and compliance. Furthermore, EAs typically offer the best unit pricing, including significant discounts on server software. However, some licenses must be purchased organization-wide or in certain combinations, and new purchases commit customers to annual maintenance payments. Because of this potential for overlicensing, other licensing programs are often used to supplement, and occasionally as an alternative to, an EA.

(This article summarizes the mechanics of a traditional EA and suggests ways organizations can evaluate EAs against other Microsoft licensing programs. Future articles will examine EA renewal options for existing customers as well as licensing Microsoft online hosted services under an EA.)