At The SAM Club, we pride ourselves on our proactive approach to recovering money for our clients.
Within Europe it is legal to resell or purchase second-hand perpetual Microsoft licenses which was addressed under the European Software Directive 2009/24/EC – Article 4(2). This article states: “the first sale in the Community of a copy of a program by the right holder or with his consent shall exhaust the distribution right within the Community of that copy, with the exception of the right to control further rental of the program or a copy thereof.”
On July 3, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled against Oracle in a landmark case that reaffirmed the legality of secondary software resale in Europe. The ECJ determined that the ‘Principle of Exhaustion’ also applies to intangible or digital software, including software within Volume License Agreements sold by vendors such as Microsoft.
As our clients transitioned from Office Standard or Office Pro Plus to the M365 E3/E5 licensing models, we consistently identified opportunities to recover money for them.
Even as the infrastructure landscape evolves, we continue to uncover ways for our clients to recover money or save on license purchases. For instance, in March 2024, we recovered £14,898.88 for one client and saved another £2,128.04 on RDS User CALS by leveraging the legality of pre-owned Microsoft software licenses: Legality of Pre-Owned Microsoft Software Licenses (thesamclub.co.uk)
In July 2024, after conducting an effective license position for another client, we identified several Windows Server Datacenter and Standard licenses that were no longer needed following an infrastructure refresh, resulting is a recovery of £10,016.00.
The savings we achieved for these two clients alone more than covered our service fees for the year. With additional savings identified and ongoing support with software renewals, licensing guidance, and advice, we remain committed t our goal of saving our clients more money than the cost of our service.
Amid rising software costs, isn’t it refreshing to find a software asset management service that actually gives back?
Isn’t it time you scheduled a meeting with us to see how we can assist you? Contact us as [email protected] for more information.
