Open Value Level C

The new Open Value price discount (affectionately known as OV 250) is finally available in Canada!

OV Level C launched April 1st and, because it is not a new Volume Licensing program,you can find it on the Open Value and Open Value Subscription price lists (just filter for "C" under the “Level” category).

This discount level is available to customers with a minimum of 250 desktops and will be sold in Canada exclusively through our Ultimate VAR and LAR resellers.

Understanding Open Value CompanyWide is key to understanding the new price discount. Customers are required to standardize across all eligible desktops on at least one of the three Components or Enterprise products (see below) in order to qualify for the price level.

Once the minimum requirements is met (250 desktops and CompanyWide) end customers will receive Level C pricing on not only Enterprise products but they will also save on Additional (other than the components below) software.

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Targeting the right customer

Minimum requirements aside, you will have to take a few more points into consideration before helping your customers settle on the right Volume License (VL) program:

1) Geographic Territory

Based on the Microsoft Open Affiliate Participation, every Open VL Program (Business, Value, & Subscription) is restricted to price sharing within a particular geographic region. This simply means that companies in North America (defined by the program as Canada and the US) cannot share their price discount (including OV Level C) with affiliates outside of their territory (i.e. Europe, Asia, etc.). Organizations that require Global coverage will have to consider the Enterprise Agreement.

2) Amendments

Open Value is a simple standardized agreement and it does not allow for changes to the Terms and Conditions. That said, as organizations grow/progress, they may need to make changes to their agreement terms to accommodate their business requirements, only an EA Program allows for the possibility of an agreement review.

3) Software Investment

If you are working with customers who have investments in Software Assurance for their desktops (CompanyWide Components: Office, Windows, or the core CAL), and they are looking to avoid having to pay for overlapping Software Assurance coverage for those purchases, an Enterprise Agreement would be a good choice. Microsoft incorporates consolidation as necessary into Enterprise Agreements.

That said, Open Value Subscription offers customers the opportunity for significant savings through the Up-to-Date Discount. Customers with qualifying software licenses can receive a 50% discount on their first year payments.

Overall, Open Value Level C is a great offering for companies and Ultimate VAR resellers. The discount enables Ultimate VARs to sell technology solutions to their customers with comparable pricing to Enterprise Agreement Level A. In addition, advantages of the Price Level go beyond just the cost of software as customers will also be entitled to an array of Software Assurance benefits, again, similar to those offered through the Enterprise Agreement Program.

Happy Selling.

Krzysztof Sokolowski

Partner Licensing Manager