Licensing windows virtual desktop on azure quexcel en. Security is a major plus with vdi as all licensing and program downloads are centralized. Microsoft found to issue the most software audits redmondmag. Our team is launching a new services solution to help hosting companies maximize their hosting agreements with microsoft. Share your knowledge, ask questions, and explore popular download, installation, and licensing topics. Windows virtual desktop session host virtual machines vms including citrix cloud and vmw horizon cloud on azure deployments are charged at linux compute rates for windows 10 single, windows 10 multisession and windows server. Client access licenses cal allow clients to connect to server software. The adoption of new technologies such as desktop virtualization e.
Audit discovery of all available licensing retail, volume, subscription, etc comprehensive executive level report with validation of all purchases and a simple list of any license shortages. Microsoft has recently changed its licensing to help organizations adopt virtualization technologies. Organizations require a licensing arrangement that puts software in the hands of users who need it while avoiding overpriced shelfware. Cal suites, such as the core cal suite and enterprise cal ecal suite, govern access to various servers. Microsoft lowers windows licensing costs for virtual desktops microsoft is lowering the price of licensing the windows operating system in a virtual desktop deployment, and announcing new. Companies that license software face annual trueups, where they must. I was an it manager responsible for software licensing, desktop and server support, etc.
Software asset managers routinely manage the complexities of software. Microsoft licenses windows for virtual desktops by access device. Providing it support and managed it services to the greater baltimore and greater washington, dc area. If you used the web installer to deploy office in wvd, then you can simply add the registry key above without reinstalling office. Mar 27, 2019 if a user connects to their desktops andor apps with multiple devices e. Licensing the windows desktop for vdi environments microsoft vdi and windows vda frequently asked questions how does microsoft license the windows desktop for virtual environments. Samit asset management take control of deployed software, volume licensing. We refer to the use of software in virtual machines or vms in this brief. Microsoft licensing for development and production virtual.
But that leads to a reactive approach when vendors give notice that they plan to audit a right they have stipulated in most every software licensing agreement. Software licensing audit improve your it baltimore md. Hardly surprising when you understand that its a means of generating revenue for software vendors. Virtual desktop access rights are a benefit of windows client software assurance sa. Wherever microsoft software is installed, you have to have a license, but. Evolve ip manages virtual desktop pools and licensing, stable and secure virtual infrastructure, network, and consumable resources cpu, ram, disk. Whether purchasing large enterprise applications or desktop productivity suites, the software license an enterprise chooses can. What is virtual desktop infrastructure vdi and how does it. How to survive a software licensing audit informationweek enterprise it organizations face software audits as a matter of doing business with large technology vendors.
Assess the performance of your remote desktop services deployment and make improvements with rdpsofts rds performance audit service. What you need to know about windows virtual desktop the. Jan 01, 2016 i only see value if software company tries to bill you for punitive damages or something, then lawyer might be able to help. This starts by identifying licensing practice red flags software providers are. Often organizations believe they are licensed correctly only to discover that they are out of compliance. Jun 08, 2017 instead of the ridiculous unlikely option, mirazon usually recommends this option. Microsoft licensing and virtual desktops gunnar berger. It can tackle windows configuration with a wellplanned. Virtual desktops and office license microsoft community. One of the most valuable benefits you receive through windows software assurance and windows virtual desktop access vda is flexible access to windows enterprise. Based on the unique concept of identitybased licensing, 10duke entitlements provides advanced features in both authentication and licensing. If any of the backend components encounter issues such as a desktop broker or licensing server automatically rebooting or a vm deployment system that has run out of storage space then users are not able to make virtual desktop connections. Microsoft volume licensing programs how to choose a. What you need to know about windows virtual desktop the shi.
Should you ever need it, our software licensing audit service will provide you with. For nonproduction virtual machines, id like to use visual studiomsdn subscriptions to satisfy licensing requirements which include the virtual development server. Vdi requires several components working together flawlessly to provide users with virtual desktops. Samit asset management take control of deployed software, volume licensing, and internal governance to maximize roi, ensure compliance, and avoid an audit. Virtualization can involve complex technical and licensing issues.
Windows virtual desktop in azure is licensed via active software assurance on windows 10 enterprise or the microsoft 365 e3e5. Suitable for office and largescale enterprise networks, total network inventory is a simple and costeffective hardware, software and network inventory tool that scans, identifies. Be sure to cover software loaded on servers as well as on individual pcs and laptops. A test version of a windows 7 virtual desktop running on a mac. How to survive a software licensing audit informationweek. This new service includes ways to reduce licensing, be compliant, and understand your risks before or during an audit. Software audit and license compliance it on command. If your company licenses thru volume licensing, then it would be best to consult a volume licensing specialist at microsoft. Besides the pros and cons of going to the cloud, there are some licensing concerns to be considered. Enterprise it organizations face software audits as a matter of doing business with large technology vendors. This is known as microsoft vda or virtual desktop access. The new windows virtual desktop access vda licenses are a. I am having all the machines running on win 2000 prof and w.
Only question then would be if they cost more than what they saved you. If a user connects to their desktops andor apps with multiple devices e. Our wide range of product editions, licensing models and maintenance plans ensures you can find the right purchase options for your organization. Software licensing audit improve your it baltimore md it. Tucloud ceo dares microsoft to sue over virtual desktops wired. Guide microsoft windows virtual client licensing explained.
As an ex software license auditor at kpmg specializing in microsoft licensing. A software audit is the practice of analyzing and observing a piece of software. Licensing microsoft applications in environments like citrix is one of the biggest gotchas that microsoft customers and software asset managers face we often see that organizations misinterpret the licensing rules resulting in overspend or noncompliance, two positions you do not want to be in. Software asset management and license optimization solutions that can meet this set of requirements can help your organization maintain continuous license compliance, manage.
Youll need to inventory software somehow and compare it to what licenses you own. As the year comes to an end, spend time auditing your virtual desktops and. Purchase a windows virtual desktop access vda subscription license for your endpoint device. There are many types of audits that can happen in your organization, whether its an internal or external one, or for security or other investigative reasons. Software licensing in the next decade it asset knowledgebase. Heres a look at what you should and shouldnt do when you get that software licensing audit notice. The word audit is a general term for analysis, and a software audit can consist of several. Jan 27, 2020 introduction a software license audit is a check of your usage of software licenses. Jan 17, 2014 it can tackle windows configuration with a wellplanned desktop audit enforcing windows policies across the enterprise seems like a pain, but a few desktop audit practices can help it reach its.
We offer all inclusive support models, customized managed services virtual desktop. Citrix combines virtualization, networking and cloud technologies with collaborative services into a full portfolio of products that enable mobile workstyles for users and virtual datacenters for it. Software license compliance why is software license compliance a concern. If end users procured their software directly then copying was relatively easy until installsheild and similar tchnologies were created. Licensing windows for use with virtual machines details software assurance for the windows desktop operating system, windows 10 enterprise e3e5 subscription licenses. There are other virtual machine software solutions, both open source and.
To obtain this level of discount, the acquisition contract has to be for applications, windows desktop and server category and the initial purchase has to amount to a minimum of 500. Your current administrator or third party consultant is responsible for your active directory, users permissions and policies, desktop applications, and endpoint device support. As an exsoftware license auditor at kpmg specializing in microsoft licensing. Software licensing for virtual desktop infrastructures and terminal. Virtual desktop infrastructure software comparison. Terminal servers now rds remote desktop services, vda virtual desktop access and vdi virtual desktop infrastructure increase the complexity of licensing. Not only does this option work for pcs that are not covered with software assurance, it also is the. Jan 28, 2014 the five vendors mostly likely to audit corporate software licenses are microsoft, adobe, autodesk, oracle, and sap, in that order. Apr 19, 2018 these were applications that typically ran directly on a desktop, or accessed via an intranet with no external access. As consecutive audits are performed, changes to the. How to get software licensing under control biztech magazine. We have conducted a countywide software licenses audit. Sorry for all the questions but in all my years in the business i have never encountered any issues with a client and licensing audit. Virtual desktop infrastructure licensing can be convoluted and confusing.
Welcome to autodesk s installation and licensing forums. Since microsoft outsources its software audits to the business software alliance bsa and. A software licensing audit or software compliance audit is an important subset of software asset management and component of corporate risk management. Im sure, start to appear in microsoft compliance checks and audits. Examining software licensing models infotech research group. Next, cdw worked with vmware to establish appropriate vmware view licensing to connect users with backend servers. The most aggressive software auditor of all is microsoft, according to a. How it departments can prepare for a software license audit as revenue for new software licenses is down, software vendors are focusing more on licensing audits to recover some of that lost income. Managing your microsoft licenses in preparation for a software audit. Evolve ip manages virtual desktop pools and licensing, stable and secure virtual infrastructure, network.
Vmware horizon, nutanix aos, parallels ras, red hat virtualization rhv, and remote desktop services. These were applications that typically ran directly on a desktop, or accessed via an intranet with no external access. Learn about how we are modifying our licensing terms related to outsourcing rights and dedicated hosted cloud services. Microsoft lowers windows licensing costs for virtual. License management for desktop virtualization managing a. Complete discovery of all systems and software packages installed.
Microsoft windows virtual desktop easy to deploy, difficult to price. An audit is an inventory of the hardware and software installed on a device as logged by the datto rmm agent. Consulted with kansasbased industrial manufacturer against misleading and erroneous audit findings in an oracle softwarelicensing audit. There are tools like the microsoft assessment and planning toolkit that can help you inventory software. Oct 01, 2019 licensing windows for use with virtual machines details software assurance for the windows desktop operating system, windows 10 enterprise e3e5 subscription licenses, and windows virtual desktop access vda subscription licenses provides the greatest flexibility for how you use windows. How to perform your annual microsoft software license audit. Establish a policy for software acquisitions, registration and use. In our license terms, these are virtual operating system environments or. Software license management checklistkeeping score.
Covers use rights for microsoft office for the windows operating system acquired as a software product under a desktop application license typically, a perpetual license. If companies track software and licenses at all, they often do it with a mix of spreadsheets, file cabinets, and purchasing systems, according to stoops. These for the most part were much easier to control and audit if managed by the it department. Introduction a software license audit is a check of your usage of software licenses. Windows virtual desktop on azure is general available and is an alternative for a virtual desktop infrastructure vdi in your own datacenter. Do you have enough software seatslicenses to support the increased headcount. Whether purchasing large enterprise applications or desktop productivity suites, the software license an enterprise chooses can have a profound impact on the return on investment roi. Software vendors exercise their rights to conduct audits to counter a growing software piracy issue for perpetual and subscription software. These license terms provide use rights to run windows locally on the licensed device in a virtual operating system environment ose. A software licensing audit can be specifically defined.
Learn how to apply your license to a deployment at the virtual desktop documentation. Licensing microsoft server products for use in virtual. It has become irrelevant whether software is installed on the computer in front of you, or on a virtual server on another continent. Software asset management and license optimization solutions that can meet this set of requirements can help your organization maintain continuous license compliance, manage hardware and software assets from a financial perspective, and reduce ongoing costs for software licenses and maintenance. Software licensing for virtual desktop infrastructures and.
This is the fourth and final installment in our series on software licensing audit preparedness and software asset management sam. Dear president preckwinkle and board of commissioners. Software license management is a part of manageengine desktop centrals inventory module, which enables tracking of software licenses and aids in ensuring. Some licenses in this area are tied to the number of cpu cores, install. List of top virtual desktop infrastructure vdi software 2020. Among organizations with 10,000 or more employees, ibm took the numberfour spot, bumping oracle to number five, and moving sap off the topfive list. There are many types of audits that can happen in your organization, whether its. We had kpmg lead a software audit for microsoft products. Technology researcher gartner found that 65 percent of its clients had to undergo a software audit last year, up from 4 percent in 2010. Best virtual desktop infrastructure vdi software include. In order to buy software assurance, i would need a volume licensing agreement.
As part of autodesk s ongoing license compliance program, your company has been selected to undergo a software compliance audit to ensure that your organisations installation and use of autodesk products and services is in compliance with applicable autodesk licensing agreements. For folks that are using autoscaling templates to dynamically provision session hosts to a host pool, you may want to consider enabling shared computer licensing via the following policy in a gpo. How to perform your annual microsoft software license audit december 8th, 2015. In the same way, microsoft provides two licensing options for you to connect to a virtual desktop. This license gives you permission to access a virtual desktop. Software license management has become a critical issue for many it organizations in light of increased. January 25, 2016 toni preckwinkle the honorable toni. How it departments can prepare for a software license audit. Hello, can we use the sccm 2007 to audit the licenses of all the software installed in the domain as same as the msia utility does. Licensing microsoft server products for use in virtual environments december 2017 2 overview of licensing models and associated virtualization rights the following summarizes the licensing models and how virtualization affects them.
Software license management checklistkeeping score flexera. And then there is no problem with using licensed software in the vce. Microsoft licensing for virtual desktops explained vdiworks. Software license management software license audit tool. In computing, virtualisation refers to the act of creating a virtual rather than actual version of something, including virtual computer hardware platforms, storage devices, and computer. Softinventive labs total network inventory is a pc audit and network inventory software. A complete list of virtual desktop infrastructure vdi software is available here. The virtual desktops application is meant for individual computers devices so it does not change the office consumer licensing model.
A cdw software licensing expert steered masy to microsofts windows virtual desktop access, which gave staff members access to applications via their virtualized workstations. These for the most part were much easier to control and audit. Microsoft is amongst one of the software vendors with the highest number of audits. Demystifying virtual desktop licensing metrixdata 360. Reign in the chaos eight steps to managing software. What you need to know about windows virtual desktop the shi blog. When a company is unaware of what software is installed and being used on its machines, it can result in multiple layers of exposure. For windows desktop operating system software licenses acquired through the oem channel, the windows use rights are outlined in the software license terms that accompany the software. Option 1 microsoft sa software assurance to qualify for virtual data architecture vda, you are required to have current software assurance on your operating system. Failure to properly license the environment risks subjecting the company to unbudgeted licensing and. The best free programs for using virtual desktops in windows.
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