Q: What is the best way for customers to acquire Microsoft Project 2010?

A: The best way for customers to acquire Project 2010 is to purchase Project 2007 now with Software Assurance (SA). SA adds value to the customers purchase with benefits that include consulting services, training, Web support, and technical resources.

Customers can find retail purchasing and licensing information at microsoft.com/project. The best source of information for most customers (such as corporate, government, and education) is a local Microsoft representative. For initial guidance on volume licensing, see microsoft.com.

Q: If a customer has Software Assurance (SA) for Microsoft Project, which product update does the customer get when Project 2010 is released?

A: SA covers updates as follows.

Microsoft Project 2010 Upgrade Path

* The right to use SharePoint licenses is granted only when the customer does not have SharePoint Server 2010. See more detail on this provision below.

Q: If a customer has ten Project CALs and ten Project Portfolio CALs covered by Software Assurance, to what licenses would they have rights?

A: The customer will have 20 Project Server 2010 CALs, if they have active Software Assurance on both CALs when Project 2010 is available.

Q: How can customers get Project 2010 if they are not covered by Software Assurance?

A: Microsoft recommends that customers always purchase licenses with Software Assurance so they can get the most out of their technology investments, manage costs, and improve productivity.

A customer who does not have active SA has two ways to get Project 2010:

Purchase Microsoft Project 2007 with SA now
Purchase Microsoft Project 2010 when it is available

Q: Will all Project Professional customers need SharePoint Server 2010 Standard and Enterprise CALs?

A: No. Only customers who use Project Professional when connecting to Microsoft Project Server 2010 will be required to have SharePoint Server 2010 and Standard and Enterprise CALs. Customers who are using Microsoft Project Professional to share tasks and lists can connect to Microsoft SharePoint Foundation (formerly Windows SharePoint Services). Customers also may use Project Professional as a standalone project management application.

Q: For customers who own Microsoft Project Server with SA coverage, but do not have licenses for SharePoint Server 2010, how do they acquire SharePoint?

A: Microsoft Project Server 2010 requires SharePoint Server 2010customers also must be licensed for SharePoint Server (Standard CAL and Enterprise CAL). As was the case with Project Server 2007, customers also must be properly licensed to use SQL Server and Windows Server.

To support current Project Server users who are covered by Software Assurance but do not have SharePoint Server licensed, Microsoft is providing the right to use SharePoint licenses.

For customers with active SA coverage when Project 2010 family products are available on the Volume Licensing site, Microsoft provides the right to use specific SharePoint licenses as follows. For each Project Server license, the right to use SharePoint Server 2010 is provided on a one-to-one basis. For each Microsoft Project Server Client Access License (CAL) or Microsoft Project Professional, the right to use SharePoint Server 2010 Standard CAL and Enterprise CAL is provided on a one-to-one basis.

These rights are intended in conjunction with a project management solution built using Microsoft Project Server 2010. Access to SharePoint Server 2010 for other purposes or by users or devices not assigned qualifying CALs requires separately acquired SharePoint Server 2010 Standard and Enterprise CALs.

This one-time exception is offered to holders of Select, Enterprise, Open License, Open Value, Campus, and School agreements who have active SA on Project Server and Project Professional licenses, when the Project Server 2010 software becomes available for download in Volume Licensing. This additional offer ends with the first renewal of Software Assurance coverage on the qualifying licenses. At the time of this renewal, qualifying customers may renew Software Assurance for SharePoint Server Standard and Enterprise CALs without also acquiring licenses. By doing so, customers will be deemed to have acquired the SharePoint Server Standard and Enterprise CALs. The maximum quantity of licenses the customer can acquire under this offer is equal to the number of qualifying Project licenses the customer owns with SA.

Microsoft is making this provision to offset budgeting and deployment planning cycles for corporate users. If customers already own SharePoint Server 2010 and associated Standard and Enterprise CALs, they are ready to deploy Project Server 2010. Customers who do not have SharePoint Server can use this provision to help prepare for the SharePoint Server 2010 dependency. New customers will need to purchase Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and SharePoint Standard and Enterprise CALs in full as outlined above.

Microsoft Project 2010 Upgrade Path

Microsoft Project 2010 Upgrade Path

Q: Why is it necessary to have SharePoint Server 2010 to use Microsoft Project Server 2010?

A: SharePoint Server 2010 provides the following functionality to Project Server 2010:

Report Center
Microsoft Office Excel Services
Advanced charting and KPIs
Workflow components

Q: Because the functionality of Microsoft Project Portfolio Server has been transitioned to Microsoft Project 2010, what is the impact on associated CALs?

A: Microsoft is retiring Project Portfolio Server and associated CALs, but Microsoft Project Portfolio Server capabilities are included in Microsoft Project Server 2010.

If a customer has Project Portfolio Server and associated CALs under SA, then the customer has the right to use the same number of copies of Project Server 2010 and associated CALs
If a customer has an active both Project Server and Project Portfolio Server licenses under SA, upgrades from Project Portfolio Server to Project Server 2010 are in addition to Project Server and CALs

Q: Can you give me an example of the licensing impact of this provision?

A: If a customer has two Project Server licenses, 200 Project Professional licenses, and 2,000 Project Server CALs, all covered under SA, then the customer will have the right to use two SharePoint Server 2010 licenses and 2,200 SharePoint Server 2010 Standard and Enterprise CALs (from a combination of 200 Project Professional licenses and 2,000 Project Server CALs). Further, if a customer also owns one Project Portfolio Server and 100 Project Portfolio Server CALs under SA, then the customer will have the right to use three Project Server 2010 licenses, three SharePoint Server 2010 licenses, and 2,300 SharePoint 2010 Standard and Enterprise CALs.