SOFTWARE LICENSING

Microsoft Amends Windows 8 Licensing and Product Use

By Ashok Bindra, TMCnet Contributor

operating system (OS), the software giant has made a few amendments, which were presented in a blog post on Windows 8 licensing. The new user rights and options applicable to the new Microsoft (News - Alert) OS are specifically applied to the virtualization and bring your own device (BYOD) areas.

The blogger, Vincent Brasseur, wrote that the new Windows 8 amendments apply when Software Assurance (SA), Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) licenses and Intune subscriptions are used.

According to Brasseur, one of the main SA benefits is access to the Windows 8 Enterprise edition. Most product use rights provided by this edition are not perpetual—they expire with the Software Assurance coverage, unlike the license itself which is perpetual. Similarly, as per the blog post, VDA and Intune subscriptions also provide access to the Windows 8 Enterprise edition, but there are differences between SA, VDA and Intune product use rights.

Referring to the upgrade right, which is probably the most well-known, the blogger wrote that a Windows 8 license continuously covered by Software Assurance provides access to the next major Windows release for free. Intune and VDA subscriptions also provide similar benefits. All three, SA, VDA and Intune, grant downgrade rights across versions and editions for non-retail licenses. In any permitted Operating System Environment (OSE), previous versions or lower editions (Windows 8 Pro, Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Professional, Windows Vista Business…) can be run, wrote Brasseur.

Furthermore, the blog also sheds some light on Windows virtualization rights included with SA and Intune. It permits the installation of up to four instances of Windows locally as virtual Operating System Environments on top of the physical device operating system.

Roaming use rights with Windows 8 are also explained in this blog. Called Windows To Go rights, it allows customers to create and store an instance of the Windows software on up to two USB drives. This instance can be used on any device covered by SA, VDA or Intune licenses or alternatively on any device outside the organization’s premises, according to the explanation in the blog. However, it requires a USB 3.0 device certified for Windows To Go and a Windows 7 or 8 certified host device, wrote Brasseur.

In conclusion, the blog indicates that Microsoft has improved the product use rights associated with Windows 8 to cover scenarios related to BYOD and VDI. “But, there is still a fair amount of complexity involved to accurately manage Windows licenses,” asserts Brasseur.

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