Microsoft slashes its software licensing prices

The Enterprise Agreement (EA) product promotion is one of a wide range of customer pricing incentives for businesses of various sizes now highlighted on the Microsoft Incentives Web site.

Under the EA promotion, customers can get 25% off the cost of the License and Software Assurance (L&SA) contract on subscriptions to the enterprise editions of Windows Server, Exchange Server, Office Communications Server (OCS), and Server Management Suite. Microsoft is also offering 15% discounts on the L&SA for standard editions of nine server software products.

With these discounts, Microsoft is taking the opposite approach of business software makers like Oracle and SAP, whose hikes on maintenance contracts have spurred customers to refuse to upgrade and sometimes to jump ship for third-party software support providers like Rimini Street.

In another promotion, for example, businesses making purchases through June 26 are receiving subsidy funds from Microsoft for use on services from Microsoft partners.