REDMOND, Washington, July 1 /PRNewswire/ --

- Built on customer criteria, Select Plus facilitates centralised and
decentralised purchasing of Microsoft software and services with a single,
organisationwide agreement.

The new Microsoft Select Plus Volume Licensing programme offers larger
companies with multiple business units flexibility in purchasing, streamlined
licence management, and reduced time and potential costs of renegotiating
licensing agreements.

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The flexible licensing programme enables customers to automatically
realise price advantages for volume purchasing across the entire company at
corporate and affiliate locations. It can also track both the contract and
ordering processes under a single customer ID, making it easier to manage
software licences throughout an organisation. Informed by customer research,
the new programme helps Microsoft Corp improve the way it brings products and
services to market and supports its ongoing relationships with customers.

Select Plus provides customers with additional options for purchasing and
represents a fundamental shift in how customers and partners can manage the
acquisition of software licences. Through a unique set of customer benefits
and features, Select Plus can simplify purchasing with a single agreement
under the Master Business Agreement while eliminating variances based on
purchase timing.

"Select Plus is a tailored response to customer feedback for greater
flexibility and enhanced manageability in purchasing," said Joe Matz,
corporate vice president for Worldwide Licensing and Pricing at Microsoft.
"We depend greatly on our customers' input to gain a deep understanding of
the features and benefits they're looking for. We want to enable an optimal
purchasing experience, not to mention simplify the ongoing management of
their software licences so they get the most value out of their investment."

Select Plus is a natural add-on to customers' existing Enterprise
Agreements and an alternative to the traditional Select License to
consolidate transactional purchasing across multiple agreements. Customers
can easily purchase and manage additional licensed products and services on a
per-project basis as well as instantly qualify for the next discounted price
level through increased purchase volume. Because Select Plus agreements never
expire for transactional purchases, customers can experience more flexibility
while eliminating the need to renegotiate and renew their contracts. In
addition, customers choosing to add Microsoft Software Assurance
(http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/sa/default.mspx) can do so at any time
and receive the full 36 months of Software Assurance benefits such as
deployment planning services, support and training.

Pricing and Availability

Like the Select License, the Select Plus programme categorises software
products into three distinct product pools:

-- Applications. Examples of Microsoft applications include Microsoft
       Office Professional 2007, Microsoft Office Excel 2007 spreadsheet
       software and Microsoft Office Project 2007.
    -- Systems. An example of a Microsoft desktop computer operating system
       software programme is a Windows operating system upgrade such as
       Windows Vista Business.
    -- Servers. Examples of Microsoft server software programmes include the
       Windows Server operating system, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft
       SQL Server database software, and associated client access licences
       (CALs).



Each software product carries a point value, and the price level is based
on product points earned for automatic tiered discount levels. To ensure that
customers receive the appropriate price level for greater volume purchasing,
the price-level adjustment is based on actual purchase volume across the
organisation. Eligible government organisations and qualifying academic
institutions receive special pricing.

To qualify and participate in the Select Plus programme, customers can
avail themselves of any of three channels:

-- Existing Enterprise Agreement, Enterprise Subscription Agreement,
       Campus Agreement or School Agreement. In this method compliance is
       waived as long as the agreement is active.
    -- Another Volume Licensing agreement. By providing an existing Select
       License agreement number, customers have the option to migrate to the
       new programme at the same price level.
    -- New customer. New customers qualify with an initial order totalling
       500 points in a given product pool.



Select Plus is expected to be available in the fall of 2008. More
information about Select Plus and other Microsoft Volume Licensing programmes
is available at http://www.microsoft.com/licensing.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise
their full potential.

About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)

Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft
employs more than 16,000 people in over 64 subsidiaries, delivering products
and services in more than 139 countries and territories.

This material is for informational purposes only. Microsoft Corp
disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to use of the material
for other purposes. Microsoft Corp shall not, at any time, be liable for any
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