Saving money on Microsoft software(Techies or large households only)

tonyenkiducx

If you insist on always having the latest software, or have to keep a fair few computers upgraded, if might be worth you taking a look at the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription. It's something I've used at my work a lot, but after speaking to our rep recently about the terms of it's use, it seems pretty much anyone can sign up for. The cost is about £300 a year, but supplies you with around 10 licenses for almost every imaginable piece of microsoft technology. You will have to do some sums to see if it is worth it for you, and I can't imagine it will make sense for anyone who is not a techie.

If you are a techie who needs new development tools, or server licenses, then this is a no-brainer. A copy of VS2010 and even a single cpu 2008 server license would set you back close to £3K.

*EDITED OUT*

Cheers,
Tony.

stugib

tonyenkiducx wrote: »

after speaking to our rep recently about the terms of it's use, it seems pretty much anyone can sign up for.

That's not what their requirements page says. You'd need to be a business that "sells more than 75 per cent of its products and services to customers outside your company" and specifically not for "nonprofit organisations, academic institutions, students, government offices, or commercial businesses whose primary focus is not IT-related." and you must "Pass an online assessment once every two years.".

It's "for internal business use and not for distribution (NFD). You may use MAPS software to run your own business and for evaluation, demonstration, testing, training and education" and not "for personal use, for hosting customer applications, or for installation at a customer site."

tonyenkiducx wrote: »

I could also suggest that 10 licenses of windows 7 or office 2010 are too much for a household, and that they could be "passed-on" to other people for a suitable renumeration, the definition of what constitutes your hardware is vauge at best

"MAPS software may not be resold, transferred, or assigned to any third party."

What you're suggesting is obviously completely outside the licencing terms and purpose of this.

swvillafan

stugib is right. We use MAPS in our organisation for development testing, it is certainly not for selling on! Bad advice from the OP!!!

stugib

Similar thing came up on HDUK when Microsoft was giving away MSDN (or whatever it's called these days) licences for a few days. Everyone piled in thinking 'great, I can use Windows and Office and .... for free".

It doesn't matter if you get a legitimate licence code, if you're using the software outside the licence terms you might as well download a dodgy torrent and use that (virus risks aside).

tonyenkiducx

As I said, the definitions of exactly what all these terms mean is vauge. If you were to develop 1 website and give it to someone, that would cover you under the type of company section.

And you most certainely do not have to pass any kind of assessment, I have 4 maps subscriptions now at the place I work, and there's never been any requirements beyond paying for them. You may be confusing the regular MAPS with some of the more advanced partner programs, which do require points in the partner program.

Plus the actual people at microsoft will tell you that these rules are not set in concrete. As I said, I have 4 subscriptions, all of which I bought over the phone at the suggestion of my rep, which is also against the T&Cs.

And I also did not suggest you should sell the software/keys, I was quite careful in my wording. ** I have edited this section out anyway