Microsoft OVS-ES Agreement for schools

The Microsoft Open Value Subscription Agreement for Education Solutions (OVS-ES Agreement) is designed for educational establishments with a Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees count of less than 1,000.

Please note: if you are a school with more than 100 FTEs, please speak to us before you sign up for an OVS-ES agreement. New licensing options for schools, including access to Enrollment for Education Solutions (EES) have become available in the last few months and are being piloted through a selected number of Microsoft partners, including Phoenix. This enables schools to take advantage of competitive discounts on Microsoft 365 Education A3 and A5. Complete the contact form below for more information.

The Microsoft OVS-ES Agreement (or Open Value Subscription Agreement for Education Solutions) provides schools with:

  • An affordable volume based price (count staff rather than devices) and rights to use the latest enterprise software products including Microsoft Office 2019/21, Windows 10/ 11, Microsoft Core/ Enterprise CAL Suites (Windows, Exchange, SharePoint CALs etc.), as well as free online services such as Office 365 Education and Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (previously, Office 365 Professional Plus)
  • The simplicity of counting FTE employees just once per year
  • Software assurance: a powerful combination of benefits that include new version rights, the Home Use Program (HUP) and many other advantages including training resources for staff and students
  • A broad selection of additional Microsoft software products that may be licensed in any quantity, including servers
  • Free of charge access to the Imagine Academy programme, providing schools with tools and resources to enhance ‘Coding in the Curriculum’. A number of certification exam vouchers per Microsoft EES, school, and OVS-ES volume licence agreement are replenished each year in November and each voucher can be redeemed via Certiport Testing to take one Microsoft certification exam: Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA), Microsoft Fundamentals, Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE). This helps educators prepare to pass Microsoft certification exams and earn Microsoft certification credentials at no additional cost
  • Predictable annual payments with a one-year or three-year term option
  • Simplified software licence management/ compliance

What are the minimum requirements to participate?

  • Customers with as few as five FTE employees can participate
  • Please speak to us first if you have more than 100 FTEs as you may be eligible to participate in EES

Why purchase from Phoenix?

Software licensing

Software licensing is at the heart of our business. Our highly-trained software advisors and product specialists are dedicated to providing you with reassurance and qualified guidance for the procurement and on-going management of your software estate. Our dedicated education licensing experts have more than 50 years of Microsoft licensing expertise between them, so you can be assured that you will receive the best licensing guidance available for Microsoft agreements within the academic sector.

Our aim is to use our knowledge and expertise to ensure you get the most out of your software estate, achieve an agile IT infrastructure that promotes business success and ensures that your staff and students receive cost-effective, innovative technology that will help them to succeed.

Software services

Our mission is to help you prepare for the future, now. We make it our business to know how the future of IT is evolving and our goal is to inform, educate, and deliver the best solutions to you.

With some of the industry’s highest accreditations and experience for value-added services in solution areas such as cloud, virtualisation, storage, and data loss prevention, we have a world-class portfolio to offer. Our experienced software advisors, and consultancy and support services combine the best practice of leading industry methodologies with knowledge, skill, and resource to bring the best in cost-effective IT operations to your school.

  • Want to implement Office 365, but don’t have the expertise?
  • Want to migrate from Windows Server Windows Server 2016 to Windows Server 2022, but don’t have the right skills internally?
  • Want to use SCCM for updates/ patch management but lack the technical knowledge?
  • Want to put backup and recovery in the cloud but don’t know where to start?

We can help with all of the points above.

As Microsoft Partner of the Year 2021, in addition to strategic and technical assistance, we also provide expert support to ensure that your school, staff, and students thrive. We can help with guidance around digital literacy and skills (for staff, students, and parents), tools and services to assist with supported learning and accessibility initiatives (use of Minecraft, included in M365 Education A3/ A5 for staff and students), access to Microsoft educator resources, and a whole host of other initiatives.

For more information or to find out how we can help schools with more than 100 FTEs, please contact us via the form below.

Naomi Busuttil
Naomi Busuttil


Guest Author

READY TO LEARN MORE?

Whatever your business or technical challenge Phoenix are here to help. To find out more about the Microsoft OVS-ES Agreement and how it can benefit your school contact a member of the Phoenix  Team today on 01904 562200 or email [email protected]. Alternatively fill in the form below and a member of the team will get back to you.


Although every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of the above article, Phoenix Software Ltd cannot be held responsible for any opinions or information provided therein and as such is not liable for any damages caused by a customer’s reliance upon this information.