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I got the main bulk of analyst comments following last week's post about Select Plus. It would be sheer negligence to let all that keen insight go to waste. So, this post will share the analysts', well, analysis of Select Plus.

Quick recap: The new program will be available on Oct. 1. Major differences from Select:

* No contract expiration after initial three-year commitment

* Single contract covering organizational entities and branch offices

* Thirty-six-month Software Assurance commitment option; no prorating

* Future pricing based on buying patterns after initial three-year contract period

Microsoft positions the program as simplifying volume licensing, since large organizations could use one contract for subsidiaries and branch offices.

"This is generally a simplification for customers that will be particularly valuable for distributed organizations that don't have the centralized control or resource to compile the forecasts required by the old Select," said Forrester analyst Duncan Jones.

Directions on Microsoft analyst Paul DeGroot agreed about "better contract management, although probably for only very large, global customers with multiple sites and agreements today. Anyone with one or a couple Select agreements probably isn't having a big problem."

"There are a couple of potential downsides," Duncan said. "The first is that the first time you sign up to Select Plus you pay a higher price for all the [purchase orders] until you reach the next threshold, which could be towards the end of the year. Under Select you get the lower price from Day 1."

"The other is the 3-year [Software Assurance] commitment," Duncan explained. "Microsoft could have allowed pro-rated, coterminous SA from the initial purchase, which would have made it cheaper for most customers. We advise clients to evaluate SA carefully and take account of all the other benefits in it, but the main driver is the likely release date of the next version."

So, simple comes at a cost. "It's my impression that Microsoft's licensing group has a fairly clear mandate to generate more revenue. That is, they're not allowed to come up with new programs that don't show a net positive for Microsoft," Paul said.

He added, "The real change is not the 3 years, but the fact that it's mandatory in Select Plus."