In addition to free software upgrades, Software Assurance provides many other benefits.
About Software Assurance
Software Assurance is a collection of benefits for Microsoft products. These benefits include free software upgrades, Office Multi-Language Packs, Office suites for use at home, and more.
Software Assurance is included with some discounted Microsoft products available through TechSoup. Software Assurance is no longer included nor available for donated Microsoft products.
Software Assurance benefits expire after three years. They can be renewed by requesting a standalone Software Assurance product through TechSoup up to 90 days before the end of the three-year term, but not after the benefits have already expired. There is no grace period after the end of the benefit period to renew.
If you obtained a license for a donated or discounted product that does not include Software Assurance, you will not be able to add Software Assurance to the license at a later time.
It's important to note that Software Assurance benefits are not the same as product licenses. Product licenses do not expire: they're valid for as long as you own the product.
You can watch this video from Microsoft to learn about managing your Software Assurance benefits in the VLSC (English).
Software Assurance Benefits Summary
See the table below for a summary of benefits provided by products that include Software Assurance. These benefits are specific to the Microsoft products offered through TechSoup and might be different from Software Assurance benefits obtained through other channels.
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Unlimited Web Support |
Provides unlimited web support for Microsoft server and desktop products at http://support.microsoft.com. |
|---|---|
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Software Upgrades |
Provides new software version releases so you have access to the latest technology. Learn more. |
|
Home Use Program |
Provides employees with access to a discounted annual subscription of Microsoft 365 for use on personal devices. Learn more. |
|
Office Roaming Use Rights |
Allows the primary user of a licensed device to remotely access Office, Project, Visio, or all three via a virtual environment from a third-party device such as a home or contractor-owned PC. |
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Backups for Disaster Recovery |
Provides licensing for backup servers dedicated to disaster recovery. Permits quarterly patching and testing as well as ongoing virtual machine replication from production servers to backup or disaster recovery servers. Learn more. |
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License Mobility |
Enables you to deploy certain server application licenses on-premises or in the cloud by assigning your existing licenses to an authorized service provider's server farm. Learn more. |
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Windows Virtual Desktop Access Rights |
Enables users to access virtual instances of Windows in a variety of user scenarios. Learn more. |
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Windows To Go Use Rights |
Enables IT administrators to provide users with a bootable corporate Windows image that can include line of business apps, settings, and corporate data on a compatible USB storage device. |
Software Upgrades
Software Assurance allows you to get free upgrades to new versions of products that were released within the three-year period of the benefit. The Software Assurance for an upgrade product has the same end date as for the original product obtained through TechSoup. Like all products, the licenses remain valid, and you can continue to use the product after Software Assurance expires. To learn more about how to upgrade for free, see How to Use or Renew Your Software Assurance Benefits.
Backups for Disaster Recovery
If your organization has a server product with active Software Assurance, you have the right to use Volume License media to install the same software on a server that is turned off until an emergency situation, known as a cold server. In a disaster, this server can be moved into production so that users can continue to access critical data and applications.
You have one disaster recovery license for each server license with active Software Assurance.
After Software Assurance expires, you can continue to use cold backup software already installed, but you cannot install any additional cold backups.
License Mobility
You can run eligible server application products in a virtual space in a Microsoft-approved server farm from Microsoft's Authorized Mobility Partners list. To find out which server products are eligible, search for the phrase License Mobility in the Product Terms document. For more information, see License Mobility Through Software Assurance.
Windows Virtual Desktop Access
This benefit allows a licensed device to access a virtual desktop infrastructure. As the primary user, you can remotely access your desktop from third-party devices such as home or contractor-owned PCs. For more information, see the latest Product Terms document.
This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.
