Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 licences are now available - members of the National Housing Federation (NHF) have until 28 September 2012 before their current Microsoft discount level expires, so buy them now before the anticipated price increase.

Talk to a member of the Phoenix Team today - call 0845 265 1265 or email: info@phoenixs.co.uk

With the release of Windows Server 2012, Microsoft brings its experience in building and operating public clouds to the server platform for private clouds. It offers you scalable, dynamic and multitenant-aware cloud infrastructure that helps you connect across-premises. As a result, IT can respond to business needs with greater agility and efficiency, and the mobile workforce is able to access personalised work environments from virtually anywhere.

The Windows Server 2012 product line-up has been streamlined and simplified, making it easier for you to choose the edition that is right for your needs.

• Datacenter edition for highly-virtualised private cloud environments
• Standard edition for non-virtualised or lightly virtualised environments
• Essentials edition for small businesses with up to 25 users running on servers with up to two processors, this will replace Windows Small Business Server
• Foundation edition for small businesses with up to 15 users running on single processor servers

There are offers available if you purchase Windows Server today so talk to your Phoenix Account Manager on 0845 265 1265 or email: info@phoenixs.co.uk to discuss which licensing deals will save you money!

See what Office 365 can do for your meetings with this fun video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiSgIRRjEeM&feature=youtu.be

Using the familiar Microsoft interface and the best of their technology, Microsoft Office 365 is a new way to manage your email, create Web sites, share files with colleagues and improve teamwork

Contact Russell Payne at Phoenix Software on 0845 265 1231 for more information.

Read more and sign up for your free 30 day trial here

At the Worldwide Partner Conference Microsoft’s Tami Reller confirmed that the Windows 8 RTM is all set for release by the first week of August, while the public release will be in late October along with the release of the Windows 8 hardware.

Click here to read more about this and expectations of the WinRT version of Surface Tablet and the tablets and laptops from other manufacturers like Dell, HP, Acer, Asus and Samsung.

Microsoft has now released details of the licensing terms for its forthcoming Windows Server 2012, expected to be with us in the Autumn of this year.

We anticipate that these changes could herald an increase in pricing of around 18% for most organisations.  So, by protecting your Licence and Software Assurance rights today, you could save your organisation a significant amount of money.

WHAT'S NEW?
Windows Server 2012 is slimming down to four versions which signals the end of the Home and Small Business Server options.  The 2012 versions will be: Datacenter, Standard, Essentials and Foundation - all with similar levels of functionality but with differing support for virtualised and cloud environments. Microsoft is also switching to a per-processor pricing model, with one licence covering two processors and more options based on the number of virtual machines being run.

KEY CHANGES

• Windows Server Enterprise will be retired with the release of Windows Server 2012
• All Windows Server 2012 editions will be licensed per processor and CAL
• Windows Server 2012 Standard will increase in price by approximately 18%

ACT NOW
By licensing Windows Server 2008 R2 with Software Assurance now, you could realise significant cost savings - talk to your Phoenix Account Manager today on 0845 265 1265 or email: info@phoenixs.co.uk

Microsoft announced their plans to align the UK pricing with the euro a few months ago, today they released the final pricing which will take effect from July 1st 2012. I am pleasantly surprised to see the price increase is not as much as we expected, thanks to the pound regaining some strength against the euro. The projected price increase of as much as 33.4% for some of the licensing schemes will now only reach a maximum of 25.9%.

Select Agreement customers will see an increase of 17.7% and Enterprise Agreement customers will increase by 18.7%. So although any price increase is obviously not going to be greatly received by Microsoft customers, they are not going to be hit as hard as Microsoft suggested initially.

Academic, OEM and FPP will not be affected.

For more information on how this will affect you, please contact your Phoenix Account Manager on 0845 265 1265

Hurry - offer valid to end June 2012

You may recall, back in March, we launched a new agreement for schools which was specially negotiated between ourselves, Microsoft and the Yorkshire and Humber Grid for Learning which is already saving YGHfL member schools huge amounts of money. In addition to the benefit of a discounted price, this agreement is also helping schools manage the ever growing software licensing compliance issue.

In many cases schools have traditionally purchased licences on a 'per device' model where licences were purchased as and when required which made managing licences and compliance a problem. The YHGfL agreement eliminates this issue as it is based on a Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Count. By licensing their FTEs, schools can deploy the products they purchase across the whole estate without having to worry about the number of devices they are being installed on.

This YHGFL Agreement, which is unique, is only available until the end of June and we would urge any YHGfL Member Schools to speak to Connor Carson on 0845 2651330 or email: connor-carson@phoenixs.co.uk to find out more about its benefits.

Some major changes are taking place next month in relation to the CIS suites which are currently only available under an ECI (enrolment for core infrastructure agreement). The ECI Agreement is aimed at Enterprise customers and there is a minimum entry requirement of 50 x processor licences.

From April 1st, the new CIS Suite SKU which contains Windows Server & System Center (inc Forefront) will be available under ALL volume licence agreements (select, select Plus, academic, open etc).

An ECI will still be the most cost effective way of purchasing this SKU, providing the minimum quantities can be met (25 x licences, which is still 50 processors from April 1st), but where the minimum quantities can't be achieved, the customer now has the option to purchase via another agreement.

The ECI suites are changing to Standard and Datacenter edition which will mirror the new System Center editions.

For further information, contact your Phoenix Account Manager on 0845 265 1265 or email info@phoenixs.co.uk

Did you know you could be eligible for a free of charge Software Asset Management Service from Phoenix Software?

If you have a current Microsoft volume licensing agreement, you could choose from any one of the following offerings:

• Baseline - this will provide you with your current Microsoft licence position
• Assessment - a review of your current Software Asset Management processes with recommendations of how these can be improved
• Deployment Planning - we can install a Microsoft discovery tool such as SCCM or MAP Toolkit as a proof of concept

Top four reasons to take us up on this offer:

• SQL 2012 is due for release soon and customers with active Software Assurance will be eligible for the new version. Licence grants to the new version, however, will be based on what you currently own and use - so it is important you know your current SQL estate! A Baseline will give you this information
• Microsoft is aligning all pricing with the Euro on 1 July 2012 which could mean a price increase* of as much 30% (excluding Academic customers). By understanding your current licence position, you can help to prevent this impacting your business by purchasing any required licences prior to the price change. A Baseline will give you this information
• We can install SCCM 2012 as a proof of concept, as part of a Deployment Planning service
• You can take out an agreement purely for SQL (SA) that will bring your old versions up to date and keep you current for the term of the agreement

ACT NOW - This limited time offer is only available on a first-come-first-served basis until 30 June 2012.

Talk to your Phoenix Account Manager today and arrange a no-obligation consultation with one of our highly-experienced Licensing Advisors. Together we can review your individual requirements in complete confidence, helping you to get the service you need.

t: 0845 265 1265       e: info@phoenixs.co.uk         w: www.phoenixs.co.uk

*Microsoft pricing increase does not apply to academic customers

IT is playing an increasingly important part in the school curriculum these days - gone are the days when children used to sit around a BBC computer once a week! IT is considered a real facilitator when helping children in their education.

Phoenix Software has been a leading provider to schools for over a decade now and our continued focus on this sector has led to numerous agreements being set up that have been very beneficial to schools. The latest framework which has now gone live is a Microsoft one for the Yorkshire and Humber Grid for Learning.

This agreement offers YHGFL members additional discount on Microsoft Licensing meaning that in this current climate of cut backs schools can make even more of the purchasing power that they have. The agreement is based upon a three year commitment and uses Microsoft’s Enrolment for Education Solutions Licensing Agreement. This is a subscription agreement and is based upon FTE count – already attractively priced for schools, this new framework pricing, provides schools who may, in the past, have struggled to procure licences effectively,  to get up to date at an incredibly competitive price.

For more details on how this agreement can help your school please call on 0845 265 1265 and ask to be put through to the YHGFL Team.