Today, March 3, 2008, the new subscription-based payment model for Microsoft technology is live. The announcement was made by Eric Ligman, Microsoft US Senior Manager Small Business Community Engagement, and is valid for customers in U.S. and in Canada. Ligman describes the new initiative as a way "to acquire your Microsoft technology on a subscription basis." And essentially, the purpose of Open Value Subscription is to provide an alternative to now traditional licensing models offering customers additional flexibility. The core concept of Open Value Subscription is to permit members of the SMB market to rent software from Windows Vista to the Office 2007 System instead of buying it. And believe it or not, the flexibility of OVS goes a long way as Ligman explained.

"A benefit unique to the new Open Value Subscription Program, is the annual true-up and true-down feature. Through this process, for any of the Enterprise products you are licensed for through Open Value Subscription (this is not a feature of any other Open License Program), you simply count your PCs one time per year and place your order for that many subscription licenses," Ligman said. "What if you add new PCs during the year? No problem. Install the licensed software and don't worry about any orders or payments until your annual anniversary. Then, you just count your PCs and place your order for that many subscription licenses for the upcoming year. That is it! No more trying to order more licenses in time for a deployment or scrambling to ensure you have enough before you install, etc."

Ligman even offered the Open Value Subscription Partner pricing and Part # Cheat Sheet list, you can access it here. The list features all the Enterprise products that Microsoft is delivering under the Open Value Subscription, and the inherent options for their acquisition. In this manner, small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. and Canada can benefit not only from the added flexibility, but also from the reduced costs associated with OVS. Microsoft Office Professional Plus for example can cost an estimated $7.5 per month.


Video: Flexibility of Enterprise orders in Open Value Subscription