CIAT's Super Campus Savers

Not only is CIAT sitting at the forefront of software technology and development (it was the main developer of CGMap), but the Center is also enjoying substantial savings on well-known software products. All of this was made possible by a Campus Agreement, a licensing program that enables educational institutes, and their students, faculty and staff, to take advantage of a wide range of Microsoft products that might otherwise be too costly for them to purchase. Congratulations to CIAT’s IT Department, led by Carlos Meneses, on this initiative.

Find out if your organization is eligible for a Campus Agreement!

A campus-wide licensing program allows educational institutions to install and use a wide range of Microsoft products for 12, 24 or 36 months, allowing users to fully enjoy the benefits of such products, including any continual updates or improvements that they may have, while at the same time being flexible with the licenses on and around campus.

A Microsoft Campus Agreement or MSCA is intended to offer significant discounts on Microsoft products to students, faculty, and staff of select universities who enter into a contract with Microsoft.

1. One annual payment for all software at academic prices (10% list price).
2. Licensing your entire establishment.
3. Access to the most current version of licensed software.
4. Ability to downgrade to an earlier version of software.
5. Broad product selection available in all languages.
6. Windows or Apple Macintosh platform.
7. Optional student licensing for use at home.
8. Membership to the Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance (MSDNAA) program. MSDNAA is designed specifically for academic labs, faculty, and students to make it easier and less expensive to get Microsoft developer tools, platforms, and servers for instructional and research purposes.
9. Software assurance Every license acquired through your Campus Agreement is automatically covered under Microsoft Software Assurance; a comprehensive maintenance program that can help gain control of your technology strategy, improve information technology (IT) staff skills, decrease support spending, and effectively plan for new software deployments.
   
   How did CIAT obtain a Campus Agreement?

   The first and crucial step was for CIAT to get recognized as an educational institution by the Colombian government. For this, CIAT had to demonstrate that it provides training for people worldwide as well as demonstrate its partnerships with local universities on working together with students and professors on various projects.

   Having demonstrated its training courses, CIAT was recognized by the Colombian government as a non-formal educational institution, this recognition means that CIAT has to continue to provide over 640 hours of training to students and post-docs per year.

   With this recognition, CIAT then applied for the open academic licenses and was able to obtain the Microsoft Campus Agreement (MSCA).

   How does a Campus Agreement benefit CIAT exactly?

   CIAT now has the opportunity to:

   1. Purchase Microsoft licenses for 12, 24, or 36 months without having to track licenses during the subscription term, licenses such as:
      • Office suite enterprise (MS Office 2003/2007 etc)
      • Operating system (MS Windows XP/Vista etc)
      • CAL for Exchange, Windows and SharePoint.
      
      These licenses can be Open Licenses (Optional); or Perpetual licenses (SA – 2 years) (Lower than charity prices)
   2. Obtain free Self training courses. (MS E-Learning)
   3. Obtain free MSDN Academic Alliance membership
   4. Software assurance: phone/email support, online helpdesk 24/7
   5. MS products can be used at home (PC’s) by Researchers and students.

   And thinking more globally, CIAT managed to include all its regions in the agreement, meaning that CIAT HQ is able to purchase the licenses in Colombia for the regional offices worldwide.

   Essentially, the MSCA obtained gives CIAT a clear advantage in cost-savings while at the same time keeping it on the forefront of software technology.

   
   Back
   

   ---

   We welcome feedback on the ICT-KM News, so please feel free to contact us at ictkm@cgiar.org