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When you purchase a Microsoft MSDN Subscription there are a few questions one must ask: 1- What is an MSDN subscription? 2- What can I use my MSDN software for? How is it licensed? 3- How should I purchase my MSDN licensing? 4- Which subscription is right for me? This article will assist you in making this decision so you can get the most out of your MSDN subscription at the lowest price. 1- What is an MSDN subscription? An MSDN subscription is a collection of Microsoft operating systems, development tools, technical information and other popular software titles. Purchasing an MSDN subscription gives a developer access to a huge array of technology. MSDN Subscriptions have been put in place by Microsoft to allow somewhat inexpensive access to Microsoft software for developers. It’s very simple: if you get all this great software at a great price, you will develop products that use Microsoft technology. Once these products are ready to be deployed in your company or sold to end-users, Microsoft can more than make their money back. Also, as more people develop software using Microsoft technology, Microsoft’s market share increases. RESOURCE: Microsoft MSDN home page 2- What can I use my MSDN software for? How is it licensed? The software you get in an MSDN subscription can be used for testing and development purposes only, and are not for use in a live production environment. Once the software goes live, you must purchase full, non-MSDN licensing for the products you use. The only exception to this is Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003 that comes in the MSDN Universal subscription. This can be used on one system by the licensed MSDN user for day-to-day production use not related to software development. RESOURCE: License use information from Microsoft MSDN Subscriptions are licensed on a per-user basis. An MSDN subscription gives a user the right to use included software on any number of systems, provided it is within a development or testing environment. Every developer or user who will utilize the software must have their own MSDN subscription. RESOURCE: MSDN FAQ from Microsoft 3- How should I purchase my MSDN licensing? Far and away, the best way for any user or organization under 250 seats is to purchase an MSDN subscription under the Microsoft Open License or Open License Value program. Though Microsoft offers retail subscriptions, these only offer 1 year of enrollment at pricing that is almost the same. With Microsoft Open License you can get a 2 year subscription. Here’s a comparison: MSDN Universal: Retail
(1 Year Subscription): MSRP $2,799 (Our Price $2,743) Clearly, Open License is the way to go. With Open License you get 1 set of MSDN media for every 5 users, which you can copy and distribute to those who are licensed. Additional MSDN media kits are available from Microsoft at a minimal cost. 4- Which subscription is right for me? MSDN
Universal, the highest level subscription, tends to be the best deal. See
the chart below for more detail:
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