Software Assurance Planning Services UNDERSTAND THE VALUE, PLAN THE SOLUTION Software Assurance Planning Services provide expert guidance to help you plan and manage your next Microsoft software deployment. Planning experts work on-site to help you evaluate how best to deploy an array of Microsoft solutions on-premises, in the cloud or hybrid environments. With flexible offerings, Planning Services can help you streamline deployments with customized plans tailored to the needs of your organization. AVAILABLE OFFERINGS DESKTOP DEPLOYMENT PLANNING SERVICES Offers evaluation, proof-of-concept and planning help for Microsoft Office and/or Windows 7, and offers migration guidance for Office 365. PRIVATE CLOUD, MANAGEMENT AND VIRTUALIZATION DEPLOYMENT PLANNING SERVICES Provides fundamental analysis, business case, process, and technical procedures needed to optimize your datacenter. SHAREPOINT DEPLOYMENT PLANNING SERVICES Helps you plan an effective deployment or migration for Microsoft SharePoint or SharePoint Online, covering a range of SharePoint Server capabilities and uses. PUBLIC CLOUD, WINDOWS AZURE DEPLOYMENT PLANNING SERVICES Offers hands-on training and guidance on migrating applications and data to Windows Azure. LYNC AND EXCHANGE DEPLOYMENT PLANNING SERVICES Provides evaluation and planning help for Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Lync deployments onpremises, in the cloud or hybrid environment. SQL SERVER DEPLOYMENT PLANNING SERVICES Provides in-depth assessment and planning for deploying or migrating content to SQL Server, SQL Server upgrades, or SQL Server BI solutions. DEVELOPER TOOLS DEPLOYMENT PLANNING SERVICES Provides rigorous analysis and a process-focused approach to develop deployment plans for Visual Studio Team Foundation Server or Visual Studio Test Tools.
PLAN AND PREPARE FOR SUCCESSFUL DEPLOYMENT Software Assurance Planning Services provide on-site deployment planning support from a qualified Planning Services partner or Microsoft Services. Your Planning Services engagement may include briefings, demonstrations, infrastructure assessment activities and/or in-depth discussions to help you evaluate how Microsoft products and services may support your organization, while addressing key implementation questions and concerns. The length of your engagement may vary 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, or 15 days as determined by the engagement you choose and your Software Assurance coverage. PLANNING SERVICES HELP YOU: Learn how Microsoft products and services fit within your environment through in-depth technology discussions and product demos. Understand and experience the value of your chosen solution through virtual lab sessions or proof-of-concept demonstrations. Build a customized deployment plan based on an assessment of your IT environment, workforce needs, and business requirements. Remove ambiguity and concerns around deployments with additional on-site expertise in specific Microsoft technologies. Augment and extend your IT staff while incorporating Microsoft best practices to help lower the risks and costs of planning your next deployment. THE CLOUD ON YOUR TERMS With the availability of Office 365 and Windows Azure, and advances in Microsoft s private cloud solutions, Planning Services has expanded to better support your organization s deployment planning needs whether on-premises, in the cloud, or hybrid environments. Office 365 migration guidance is available within Desktop, SharePoint, and Lync and Exchange Deployment Planning Services to help you learn more about the opportunities and practical realities of deploying Office, SharePoint, Lync and Exchange via a private or public cloud. Private Cloud, Virtualization and Management Planning Services help you evaluate how best to deploy a private cloud solution built on Windows Server Hyper-V and System Center to promote agility, reduce costs, and optimize your datacenter infrastructure. Public Cloud, Windows Azure Deployment Planning Services offer hands-on training and guidance on how you can build, host and scale applications in Microsoft datacenters. SQL Server and Developer Tools Deployment Planning Services offer guidance on deploying SQL Server solutions that reside on-premises, or connect to private or public cloud solutions. They can also help improve team collaboration and development processes with expert advice on deploying Visual Studio. 2
USING YOUR PLANNING SERVICES DAYS Available in 1, 3, 5, 10 or 15 days increments, Planning Services engagements offer a collaborative consulting experience based on best practices from Microsoft. The longer engagements allow for a deeper look at a specific technology, provide more in-depth analysis and deployment planning, and in some cases additional assessment and deliverables. Some engagement options are more focused and designed to help you with a specific deployment planning element (e.g., Proof-of-concept for Office) or product solution (e.g., planning a SQL Server BI solutions). Planning Services are designed to be flexible. Regardless of your chosen engagement, your Planning Services partner will work with you to establish specific components based on your organization s needs and help ensure you have an understanding of what can and will be included with your engagement. Planning Services Offer 1 Day 3 Days 5 Days 10 Days 15 Days Desktop Deployment OFFICE 365 PROOF OF CONCEPT OFFICE COMPATIBILITY WORKSHOP DESKTOP DEPLOYMENT PROOF OF CONCEPT DESKTOP DEPLOYMENT PLANNING SERVICES ENGAGEMENT SharePoint Deployment SHAREPOINT FOR INTERNET SITES PLANNING SHAREPOINT 2010 UPGRADE PLANNING SHAREPOINT SPECIFIC PLANNING FOR OFFICE 365 SHAREPOINT DEPLOYMENT PLANNING SERVICES ENGAGEMENT Lync and Exchange Deployment UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS DEPLOYMENT PLANNING LYNC AND EXCHANGE SPECIFIC PLANNING FOR OFFICE 365 LYNC AND EXCHANGE DEPLOYMENT PLANNING SERVICES ENGAGEMENT Private Cloud, Management and Virtualization Deployment UPGRADING TO WINDOWS SERVER 2008 R2 ACCELERATING VIRTUALIZATION AND MANAGEMENT DEPLOYMENT ACCELERATING PRIVATE CLOUD DEPLOYMENT Public Cloud, Windows Azure Deployment PUBLIC CLOUD JUMPSTART 3-DAY: Learn PUBLIC CLOUD JUMPSTART 5-DAY: Plan Web Application PUBLIC CLOUD JUMPSTART 10-DAY: Plan LOB Application SQL Server Deployment UPGRADING TO SQL SERVER 2008 R2 DEPLOYING SQL SERVER BI MIGRATING FROM ORACLE TO SQL SERVER Developer Tools Deployment VISUAL SOURCESAFE MIGRATION ASSESSMENT TEAM FOUNDATION SERVER DEPLOYMENT ASSESSMENT VISUAL STUDIO QUALITY TOOLS DEPLOYMENT ASSESSMENT 3
Using Planning Services MICROSOFT EXPERTISE AND BEST PRACTICES FOR NO ADDITIONAL COST As a Software Assurance customer, you receive a number of Planning Services days based on your license agreements for no additional cost. You can use your days to get on-site deployment planning help via a straightforward voucher creation and redemption process. Using the Microsoft Volume License Service Center, you simply select your engagement type, create a voucher, and assign it to your chosen Planning Services partner. When the engagement is complete, your Planning Services partner redeems the voucher, and receive payment directly from Microsoft. DETERMINE DAYS AND ELIGIBILITY: You must be a Microsoft Volume Licensing customer with an Open Value, Select/Select Plus with SAM, or Enterprise Agreement. Ask your Microsoft representative to help you determine the number of available Software Assurance Planning Services days. Go to the Microsoft Licensing Advisor for a description of Software Assurance benefits based on your purchase or renewal plans. This is a free online tool. (www.microsoft.com/licensing/mla) Visit the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) for the most accurate statement of your current benefits. You must be registered to use this tool. (www.microsoft.com/licensing/servicecenter) CREATE A VOUCHER IN VLSC: 1. Sign into VLSC. 2. Select Software Assurance from the top menu. 3. Click on Planning Services. This will take you to the Manage Software Assurance Benefits page. 4. Click on the LicenseID for which you want to manage Planning Services. This will take you to the Benefit Summary page. 5. Select Planning Services. 6. Select the voucher type and service level (number of days). 7. Assign the Planning Services voucher to a project manager within your organization. The project manager will receive an email message that provides information about the benefit. The email will also include a link to a list of Planning Services partners or Microsoft Services so that the project manager can schedule the engagement. Work with a qualified Planning Services partner. Working with a qualified Planning Services partner brings value and expert assistance to every phase of your engagement. Microsoft qualified partners impart best practices for deployments and upgrades by analyzing your infrastructure needs and providing planning guidance to help you manage your deployment or migration. SELECT A PARTNER: Check with your Microsoft representative for help locating a qualified partner or visit: http://directory.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/psbproviders/ START THE ENGAGEMENT: When the consulting partner confirms the engagement, the Planning Services voucher will show as Reserved in VLSC. 4
Determining your number of Planning Services days You receive a number of Planning Services days based on your qualifying Office Application licenses, Server and Tools product, Core CAL, Enterprise CAL, and SQL CAL licenses with Software Assurance. Days earned across all software purchases are pooled and can be used on any of the Planning Services offerings regardless of the software type purchased. A point system takes into account license type and the number of licenses in order to determine the number of Planning Services days. Each product license has an assigned point value. Total points map to Application and Server, or CAL Suite entitlements to determine total Planning Services days. EXAMPLE POINT/DAY CALCULATIONS: OFFICE AND SERVER MIXED PURCHASE UNDER AN ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 3,500 Office Professional Plus (1 point each = 3,500 points) +50 Windows Server Enterprise Edition (50 points each = 2,500 points) +600 Visio Standard (1 point each = 600) 6,600 Applications Server Points = 10 days Application and Server Points 3,500 Enterprise CAL Suites (2 points each = 7,000 CAL Suites Points) = Total 13 Planning Services Days 7,000 CAL Suite Points = 3 days Days Available CAL Suite Points Days Available 200 499 1 200 3,999 1 500 1,999 3 4,000 9,999 3 2,000 3,999 5 10,000 99,999 5 4,000 29,999 10 100,000 299,999 10 30,000 49,999 15 300,000 599,999 15 50,000 99,999 20 600,000 + 20 100,000 199,999 30 30 200,000 399,999 40 40 400,000 599,999 50 50 Check to see if you have more days. As of August 2011 Microsoft Volume Licensing customers with active Software Assurance on eligible Server and Tools products receive additional Planning Services days. Days earned across all software purchases are pooled and can be used on any of the Planning Services offerings. Extend your engagement with unused Training Vouchers. Tip: You may increase the number of engagement days for Planning Services by converting your unused Training Vouchers on a 3- to-1 basis. Go to www.microsoft.com/softwareassu rance and select the Use my Benefits link to learn more. Microsoft provides this material solely for informational and marketing purposes. Customers should refer to their agreements for a full understanding of their rights and obligations under Microsoft s Volume Licensing programs. Eligibility for Software Assurance benefits varies by offering and region and is subject to change. The Terms and Conditions of your Volume License Agreement and the Terms and Conditions under which any specific Software Assurance benefits are offered will take precedence in the case of any conflict with the information provided here. For eligibility criteria and current benefit program rules, see the Microsoft Product List. [Publication: 092011 Microsoft Software Assurance Planning Services: Overview] 5