Microsoft User Cals Price Increase
Friday 15th July 2016
From 1st December 2012 Microsoft will introduce User CAL differentiated pricing across ALL Volume Licensing Programs which will see the price of User CALs increase by 15% whilst Device CALs will not change price.
Current Situation – CAL Differentiation
Microsoft offers both a per user and a per device option when purchasing Client Access Licenses (CALs). Traditionally the price has been the same regardless of which option customers chose. Going forward Microsoft will differentiate between these CALs and will be raising the price of the User CAL by 15%. The device CAL price will remain unchanged.
The Changes
The following User CALs will incur a 15% price increase on 1st December 2012:
- Bing Maps Server CAL
- Core CAL Suite
- Enterprise CAL Suite
- Exchange Server Standard / Enterprise CALs
- Lync Server Standard / Enterprise / Plus CALs
- Project Server CAL
- SharePoint Server Standard and Enterprise CALs
- System Center 2012 Client Management Suite
- System Center Configuration Manager
- System Center Endpoint Protection
- Visual Studio TFS CAL
- Windows Multipoint Server CAL
- Windows Server CAL
- Windows Server RDS, RMS, Terminal Services CAL
Customers with Enterprise Agreements have fixed pricing for committed products for the term of the enrolment so will not be affected by the differentiated CAL pricing until their next renewal. Please Note: Public Sector pricing under the PSA12 Agreement will remain the same and is therefore not affect by this change.
For general information on the current Microsoft Licensing schemes click here.
Next Steps
The choice between selecting User CALs vs. Device CALs depends on economic factors and ease of management. Having fewer devices than users means it may make sense to license per device. However, if it is easier to track devices than count users, the per device licensing model offers an appropriate solution. If the opposite is true, per user CALs may well be a better fit.These are not the only licensing changes anticipated - with the new Wave 15 Office Product set imminent we expect further changes coming down the line. Please contact us to book time for a chat on how you can minimise unexpected risks and costs associated with your User CALs and the further changes expected.
Call us on 020 786 1500Alternatively, register for our Microsoft Event at Cardinal Place in November to ensure that you are up to date with all the current and forthcoming product and licensing changes.
Want to keep informed? Sign up to our Newsletter