Project Server 2010 & SharePoint 2010 Software Assurance
Project Server 2010 is nearing launch (expected May 2010), it’s time to start thinking about licensing! At present when deploying Project Server 2003 and 2007 as a prerequisite you must have Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) installed (even if you don’t it’s installed at the same time as Project Server).
Things are different with Project Server 2010, you MUST have SharePoint 2010 Enterprise Edition installed before you attempt to install Project Server 2010, if you don’t the install will fail the prerequisite check and you’re back to square one! The issue that some organisations will have is that whilst WSS was free, SharePoint 2010 Enterprise Edition is not! There are however ways around this if you act quickly.
Whilst SharePoint 2010 Enterprise Edition provides a huge leap over WSS in terms of functionaility, it also differs from a licensing perspective. Our clients have already enquired about the implications for them and their planned deployments of Project Server 2010. This is where Software Assurance could be key for those wanting Project Server 2010 but not necessarily the full featured version of SharePoint 2010.
Having spoken to the Microsoft Licensing Centre the message is:
If a customer has SA (Software Assurance) for Project Server 2007 they will get a “Limited Use Rights”; this means only using the SharePoint technology for Project functionality- customers aren’t then licensed to use SharePoint for anything other than project.
So if you want to utilise all of the SharePoint 2010 Enterprise Edition features, be prepared to get a “Full Use Rights” server license and the SharePoint Client Access Licenses (CALs).
Project Server 2003 to 2010 Upgrade
If you are currently using Project Server 2003 but are looking at migrating to Project Server 2010 you should act fast! You should consider getting a Project Server 2007 license with Software Assurance before it is dropped from the Software Assurance list. Further information can be found in the following article:
- Microsoft Project Server 2003 Software Assurance Deadline
