Volume Software Licensing Program

A Volume Software Licensing Program is a software licensing model that allows organizations to purchase licenses in bulk, providing flexibility, cost savings, and simplified management of software assets.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) offer discounts and benefits for organizations purchasing multiple software licenses, making it cost-effective for large-scale deployments.
  • It can (often) include various licensing agreements such as Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, Microsoft Open License, and Microsoft Select Plus to meet the specific needs of different organizations.
  • It can range from providing basic software licensing to comprehensive agreements that include support, training, and access to the latest software versions.
  • It can simplify license management by consolidating multiple licenses under a single agreement, reducing administrative overhead.
  • It can offer flexible licensing options, allowing organizations to scale their software usage up or down based on changing needs.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement that provides flexible licensing options and cost savings for organizations with 500 or more users or devices.
  • a Microsoft Open License that allows smaller organizations to purchase software licenses in bulk with flexible payment options.
  • a Microsoft Select Plus agreement that offers transactional licensing for government and academic institutions, allowing them to manage their software assets effectively.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Retail Software Licenses, which are purchased individually and are not designed for bulk licensing or large-scale deployments.
  • Subscription-based Licensing, where software is licensed on a subscription basis rather than purchased outright, and often does not offer the same bulk discounts as volume licensing.
• See: Google Workspace, Software as a Service.

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References

2024

• (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volume_licensing Retrieved:2024-6-21.
  • In software licensing, volume licensing is the practice of using one license to authorize software on a large number of computers and/or for a large number of users. Customers of such licensing schemes are typically business, governmental or educational institutions, with prices for volume licensing varying depending on the type, quantity and applicable subscription-term. For example, Microsoft software available through volume-licensing programs includes Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office.

    Traditionally, a volume licensing key (VLK), which could be supplied to all instances of the licensed computer program, was involved in volume licensing. With the popularity of the software as a service practices, volume licensing customers only supply their software with credentials belonging to an online user account instead, which is used for other aspects of services and provisioning.

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