In an effort to simplify its often tortuous licensing agreements, Microsoft has created a new program called Enterprise Advantage on MPSA.

The new program, which is absolutely not to be confused with existing Enterprise Agreements, will be offered to enterprises with an existing Microsoft Products and Services Agreement (MPSA) early next year. Microsoft is targeting enterprises with between 250 to 2,400 users or devices with the program. It’s a three-year deal that lets organizations purchase Microsoft products and services company wide.

Mark Nowlan, director of marketing for Microsoft’s Worldwide Licensing Programs, said the new program is “the next step in the development of modern licensing.”

MPSA refers to Microsoft’s current licensing/purchasing agreement that’s designed to let customers consolidate their existing array of licenses into a “single, nonexpiring agreement for all organizations”. The MPSA was designed as a replacement for Microsoft’s older software-centric licensing and purchase agreements, in the belief that something simpler would appeal to enterprises that use a mix of the company’s products and services. Enterprise Advantage on MPSA streamlines multiple licensing/purchasing agreements into a single agreement that offers two options for buying – transactional/buy as you need and organization-wide. Microsoft said its Perpetual Desktop Enrollment, Subscription Desktop Enrollment, and Server and Cloud Enrollments will all be retired as part of this consolidation.

Neither the old Enterprise Agreements or the newer MPSAs allow organizations to aggregate their licensing enrollments to get lower pricing, and that’s where the new Enterprise Advantage on MPSA deal could appeal. For customers with the requisite number of users or devices, the new deal should work out less expensive than the current methods, because it enables “organization-wide purchasing” of software and services under a single agreement.

The new program doesn’t mean Microsoft is canning Enterprise Agreements just yet though. However, it is gradually phasing out the Select Plus agreement from the beginning of next year. Microsoft also increased the minimum Enterprise Agreement commitment, up from 250, to 500 users or devices, earlier this year.

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