SPLA

New CSP Direct Requirements

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As if 2020 wasn’t hard enough for service providers and MSPs, Microsoft is making new eligibility requirements for CSP Direct partners starting January, 2021. This was announced to all partners earlier this week.

What are the new eligibility requirements?

New revenue target of 300K (USD) in CSP sales during the preceding twelve months is one of the major changes. CSP partners will need to meet this new requirement at the anniversary date of their support plan. In other words, if you have a support plan coming up for renewal soon and do not meet this requirement, you must put on your selling shoes and get to work or look at other alternatives. Active support plan (Premiere Support as an example) is also another requirement.

I think it is important to understand your options. If you don’t meet the requirements you must move to the CSP Indirect program. If you are close to hitting your 300k in sales, start looking at CSP perpetual licenses as a new revenue stream. Open licensing is going away, maybe perpetual licenses could be an option?

If you are CSP Direct authorized for the QMTH program only, this change will be significant. As part of QMTH, you must be CSP Direct authorized.

If you have questions on how this change will impact you, please email info@splalicensing.com

Thanks for reading,

CSP Man

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What’s old news for some is new for others.

MS LicensingLeave a comment

We wrote about some of these changes in an earlier post.  In this article, we will review the licensing in’s and out’s in greater detail.

What is it?

Windows 10 Enterprise E3 in CSP is a per-user subscription marketed primarily to small and medium sized businesses.

How is it licensed?

It is a per user subscription model.  Licensed users may install Windows 10 Enterprise on up to 5 devices.

Is it availalbe in SPLA?

Windows 10 Enterprise is not available in SPLA.  CSP and SPLA are two separate programs.

What are the requirements?

New and renewed CSP customers will need to accept the Microsoft Cloud Agreement (MCA)  to use Windows 10 Enterprise. The updated Product Terms use rights for Windows 10 Enterprise in CSP, which were published in the September 2016 Volume Licensing Product Terms review this change.  Click here to see the latest update.

What are some other licensing benefits or things to watch out for?

  •  Downgrade to Windows 10 Pro at any time. When a user’s subscription expires or is transferred to another user, the Windows 10 Enterprise device reverts seamlessly to Windows 10 Pro edition (after a grace period of up to 90 days).
  • Move licenses between users. Licenses can be reallocated from one user to another user.
  • Customers subscribed to Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5 can now upgrade their Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs and devices to Windows 10 without the need to purchase separate upgrade licenses. Check out the blog post by Microsoft here
  • Customer that were subscribed to the Secure Productive Enterprise E3 and E5 can also upgrade their Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PC’s to Windows 10.  Secure Productive Enterprise is the new name for the Enterprise Cloud Suite (ECS).  It bundles Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5 with corresponding versions of Office 365 (E3 and E5) and the Enterprise Mobility + Security solution (EMS).

Thanks for reading,

CSP Man

Leveraging Azure CSP instead of SPLA

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Azure is just a data center outsourcer.  Designed for both enterprise customers and service providers, it provides solutions that fit both business models.  In this article, we will review four scenarios on how different solution providers and end customers can leverage CSP.

Scenario 1

An end customer has many vendors in which they purchase various technology services from. They would like to outsource their IT infrastructure to Azure but are concerned about adding another vendor to their already complex portfolio.  The ultimate goal is to consolidate vendors and work with one strategic partner.   How would CSP work for this customer?

The customer could purchase Azure from a Tier 1 CSP partner who has a platform to manage consumption and make recommendations based on spend.  Secondly, they can use the CSP Tier 1 partner for support.

Scenario 2

A hosting provider who has a signed SPLA agreement would like to resell Azure to their end customers.  The hosting partner has very limited resources internally but would like to still control the billing.  How would CSP work for this customer?

The hosting provider can partner with a  CSP Tier 2 partner and resell Azure to their end users.  The Tier 2 partner will provide the support, while the hosting partner provides the billing leveraging the Tier 2 partners platform.  Because the hosting provider is leveraging Azure, there is no need for SPLA.  All Windows and SQL would be provided by Azure.

Scenario 3

A hosting provider has an application that they lease from another company.   The hosting company  would like to provide this application as a service to their end users leveraging Azure.

The hosting partner can buy an Azure agreement (through CSP or any other program) and use Azure as a platform to host the application.  Again no need for SPLA, they are purchasing the licenses from Azure.

Thanks for reading,

CSP Man