With my recent blog on Earn £20k Reward For Reporting Software Piracy, I just decided to put in some details on Microsoft Licensing. Hope that will help all to educate on going for genuine products.

What is licensing?
A software license grants you the right to run or access a software program. Licensing software is different than purchasing a car or house in that you have the right to run the software but there are ongoing requirements that determine how the software can be used. These requirements include such things as deployment eligibility, transferring software to other users, and downgrading to earlier versions of the software.
Microsoft software licenses generally come with one of two kinds of agreements which specify how you may use the software. The first kind, and the one most users are familiar with, is an End User License Agreement (EULA). If you have ever acquired a license for software from a retailer or purchased a new computer with software already installed, then you have probably seen a EULA. The EULA generally either comes in the box on paper or cardstock or pops-up onscreen when you install new software. You typically must accept the terms and conditions before installing the software. The second agreement type, Product Use Rights (PUR), is similar to the EULA except that it pertains to software licensed through a Microsoft Volume Licensing program. The PUR, together with the Microsoft Volume Licensing program agreement under which a license is acquired, governs the use of Microsoft Volume Licensing software.

Where do we need Microsoft Licensing?

Addresses a wide range of products

Gaming software to
Business critical server software

Addresses a wide variety of customers

Home consumers to
Family-run businesses to
Large transnational corporations

What is Product Licensing?

Product Categories/Pools

Applications

Desktop applications like Office, Project, Visio, OneNote, InfoPath, etc.
Developer products like Visual Studio, MSDN Universal, etc.

Servers

All server products like Windows Server, SQL Server, Exchange Server,

BizTalk Server, etc

All associated Client Access Licenses (CALs)

Systems

Desktop operating system only

Applications (Non-developer products)

Licensed on a per device basis
Number of devices needing the application = number of licenses to be bought
Per device basis immaterial of whether the application is installed on the device or whether the device is accessing the application resident on a server
No concurrent model of licensing

Applications (Developer Products)

Licensed on a “per user” basis
Products licensed to a “user” can be loaded on multiple desktops/servers (depending on the product edition)
Designed for a more optimal usage in a developer environment

Servers

“Per device/user” basis
One server license for each server on which the software is installed
One Client Access License (CAL) for each device/user that accesses the server
Device/user flexibility available to customer to maximize benefit based on situation
Server licenses and CALs needed for each type of server being used
Server licensed in this manner include: Windows Server, Exchange Server, SharePoint Portal Server, Systems Management Server, SQL Server, Project Server

Systems

Licensed on a “per device” basis
Number of devices needing the Desktop operating system = number of licenses to be bought

Licensing Programs

There are 3 types of Microsoft Licensing programs

OEM, RETAIL, VOLUME LICENSING

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM): This is also called as System Builder licensing. This software is pre-installed with the hardware (PCs or servers)

Retail: Aimed at consumers or organizations with less than 5 PCs/people

Volume Licensing is categorized into 3 types:-