Lord Palmerston reportedly said of the Schleswig Holstein Question that only three people had understood it one was dead, one was mad and the other had forgotten.
I still reckon that’s a couple more than have ever understood MOSS 2007 licensing.
And so with a mind troubled by this I sat through a talk which promised to reveal the licensing model for SharePoint 2010.
How would my sanity have fared by its conclusion?
So first up what does each version contain:-
SharePoint Foundation Server 2010 is the free offering replacing WSS 3.0. and will have the usual limits of SQL Express and Search Express.
The Standard SharePoint functions will be base around Collaboration, Enterprise Search, Document and Content Management, Social Computing (Wikis, My Sites), Digital Asset Management (including Silverlight) and Records Management. Basically unstructured data.
The Enterprise functionality is a long list:
- Excel Services
- Performance Point Services
- Advanced Charting
- Visio Services
- Access Services
- InfoPath Form Services
- Client line of business integration and web parts
- Custom Reports
In addition server licences can be upgraded to use FAST search.
Speaking of server licenses these break into Standard and Enterprise as before but this time there are both intranet and internet versions. Added to this is the aforementioned FAST server license which comes in both flavours too. So when you add this to the Foundation Server you have a total of seven types of SharePoint (a title for a post if ever I scribbled one).
Note that the SharePoint for Internet 2010 Standard Edition is designed for small to medium concerns and will retail at about half the price of the current MOSS for internet. But, and its a big but, it will be artificially throttled possibly round content size (the Microsoft boys were a bit hazy on this).
For intranet solutions the Client Access Model remains with the need to buy both a Standard and Enterprise CAL to access Enterprise features. For FAST although the license upgrade is for the server users utilising it will need an Enterprise CAL.
Still with me?
Ok – SharePoint 2010 Online for intranet will continue with the current User Subscription License based on Enterprise, Standard and Deskless (read and form filling only). It will also have an Internet and Partner Access versions. Partner Access is effectively an extranet option.
For related technology:
SharePoint Workspace (the app formerly known as Groove) comes with Office 2010 PRO+ (which sounds like a caffeine tablet)
Office Web Apps – Office 2010 but do need SharePoint Foundation 2010 to work.
Project Server 2010 – needs a Project CAL and a SharePoint Enterprise CAL
SQL Server Power Pivot - SQL Enterprise Edition if exposed only in office then an Office 2010 to be surfaced in SharePoint an Enterprise CAL is required.
Just for completeness there is also a non SharePoint version of FAST - Fast Search Server 2010 for Internet Business.
Eh… wibble