“Not only did we save money up-front with the Open Value Subscription option, but we also reduced administration time because we have to support only one version of the Windows operating system.” Anders Christensen, IT Manager, Lind & Risør To both reduce costs and provide its employees with consistent, up-to-date technology, architectural and homebuilding firm Lind & Risør enrolled in Microsoft Volume Licensing Open Value programs. With the Open Value Organization-Wide and Subscription options and the included Software Assurance benefits, the firm has access to the latest Microsoft software, optimizing productivity and saving up to 15 percent on licensing costs. Business Needs Since 1980, Lind & Risør has built individually crafted houses of high quality at affordable prices. As with many homebuilders, the firm experienced a decline in business during the global financial crisis beginning in 2008 and began to seek ways to reduce costs. One area it focused on was software licensing. Lind & Risør has had a Microsoft Volume Licensing Open Value Organization-Wide agreement and Software Assurance benefits for several years. The agreement covers Microsoft Office Professional Plus, Microsoft Exchange Server messaging software, Microsoft SQL Server data management software, and the Windows Server operating system. The firm acquired OEM licenses for the Windows client operating system with the purchase of new computers. By 2010, when the company was about to renew its Open Value Organization-Wide agreement, the majority of its 65 PCs were still running Windows XP, with the rest running Windows 7. The company hadn’t included the Windows client in its Volume Licensing agreement, because it typically upgraded only a few PCs at a time when it licensed new hardware. However, as Windows XP approached its end-of-sales date, Lind & Risør wanted to upgrade the remaining PCs to Windows 7 at once and sought a licensing solution that was more cost-effective than acquiring OEM licenses. Also, because market conditions were still unpredictable, the company could not accurately forecast how many licenses it would need for a three-year period. “We were seeking a solution to acquire all of our Windows licenses in one agreement, but we needed the flexibility to say, ‘This year we need 65 licenses, next year we may need only 50, and the following year we might need 70,’” says Anders Christensen, IT Manager for Lind & Risør. Solution Christensen discussed the licensing issue with the firm’s Microsoft Volume Licensing partner, Msec a/s, which Lind & Risør had worked with since 2005. Msec suggested that the firm acquire Windows 7 licenses under a Microsoft Open Value Subscription option, which includes Software Assurance. With the Subscription option, Lind & Risør has the right to run the software on all of its licensed PCs during the term of the agreement. The firm pays a lower fixed price per PC for as long as it uses the software. It can reduce the number of licenses in years when its PC count Customer: Lind & Risør Website: www.lr-hus.dk Customer Size: 200 employees Country or Region: Denmark Industry: Construction Partner: Msec Customer Profile Lind & Risør, based in Copenhagen, is one of Denmark's largest residential homebuilders. It offers full architecture and construction services. Software and Services Microsoft Office − Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 Microsoft Server Product Portfolio − Windows Server 2008 − Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 − Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 − Microsoft SQL Server 2005 − Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Windows 7 Services − Microsoft Volume Licensing − Microsoft Open Value Organization- Wide − Microsoft Open Value Subscription − Microsoft Software Assurance For more information about other Microsoft customer successes, please visit: www.microsoft.com/casestudies Microsoft Volume Licensing Customer Solution Case Study Homebuilder Saves Up to 15 Percent, Optimizes Workflow with Flexible Licensing