I’ve seen the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS) discussed on the forums in the past and thought it deserves a full dedicated article. Honestly, it’s one of the best values offered to small tech business. The subscription is required if you want your business to have the “Microsoft Small Business Specialist” credential. If you want a cost effective way to learn current Microsoft software while actively using it to run your business, then you need to check this amazing subscription deal from Microsoft.
The Microsoft Action Pack is offered by Microsoft through their general partner program, which is free to join. Once you are a partner you can choose to subscribe to one of two versions of the action pack subscription:
Microsoft Action Pack. Download32 is source for microsoft action pack shareware, freeware download - ES Action Pack, HPC Pack 2008 R2 SDK x64 3.3.3950 SP3, HPC Pack 2008 R2 SDK 3.3.3950 SP3, 3-in-1 ACTION Games from Webvisia, Eclipse: First Wave, etc. Microsoft Partner Community: Engage: Microsoft Connect: Partnership 101. What is a Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS)? MAPS stands for Microsoft Action Pack Subscription. It's an affordable yearly subscription which can help you unlock unlimited potential. With software, support, and benefits for businesses, MAPS enables you to. Hello, I have a current Action Pack subscription and valid installation keys. Our file server crashed and we lost a lot of our software library. We have Windows 7 Pro 32-bit on disc, but not 64-bit. Since Windows 7 is no longer offered in the Action Pack, we cannot again download the 64-bit version. Details regarding the Microsoft Partner Network Visual Studio subscriptions; Microsoft Partner Network Program Administrator Guide to Software and Online Services Benefits. Pg6: Assigning Contact Roles and Visual Studio subscriptions for Action Pack Note: The Technical Contact Role is required for Visual Studio subscriptions.
- Action Pack solution provider – For partners who support, install, maintain, and sell solutions on the Microsoft platform. US$329.00 per year
- Action Pack Development and Design – Includes everything from the action pack solution provider plus tools for businesses that design and develop applications for the Microsoft platform. US$429.00 per year
This guide is for Microsoft Action Pack subscribers and competency partners. It is intended to. Software Download. Ability to download software from the. Mar 3, 2015 - MAPS-office-365-product-keys-Cloud-Download-View. 4) Expand the 'Microsoft Action Pack'-section to reveil the Product Key. Aug 8, 2017 - MAPS is a great subscription for smaller partners that are starting the journey towards Silver/Gold. Great value for a very reasonable sum!
Both MAPS subscriptions comes with a basic Technet subscription as well, which contains a plethora of Microsoft software available to download for testing or troubleshooting purposes only. Technet has operating systems from Windows 3.1 to Windows 7, and everything in between (Windows Server, SQL server, etc)!
I’ve read that the software offered in this package is estimated to be worth around $20,000 if you were to buy retail licenses of everything!
Microsoft Action Pack Download Software
Benefits
The MAPS subscription allows the business partner to use the software licenses within the their business. This means that the partner will be able to use Microsoft’s most current software on a daily basis in a business environment. Obviously this is great because the partner gets to learn the software first hand which makes it easier to support and sell to customers. The multiple licenses allow you to use the software on multiple machines within your organization and/or use it to learn a specific application in a virtual environment (ex. if you want to certify in an application).
I find the subscription well worth the cost since I have access to just about all of Microsoft’s active software either through MAPS or Technet. It’s a cost effective (and legal!) way for the IT professional and business owner to get their hands on Microsoft software.
Microsoft’s general partner membership also offers training videos and access to Technet support. The videos are great for learning about many different Microsoft products, from sales overviews to technical tutorials.
Microsoft Small Business Specialist Credential
The Microsoft Small Business Specialist credential is Microsoft’s certification for partners that specialize in support, installation, sales, and deployment of Microsoft products to small and medium sized businesses. Upon obtaining the credential, the partner is allowed to use the “Microsoft Small Business Specialist” logo, then is listed in Microsoft’s pinpoint partner finder, and gains access to the small business partner community.
It serves as another way to set your business apart from others if you have expertise in Microsoft’s small business solutions or if you want to compete in the small business support market. In order to obtain this credential the business must:
- 1. Register as a general Microsoft Partner
- 2. Pass the Small Business Sales and Marketing Skills Assessment
- 3. Have somebody in the organization (or a contractor) pass one of the following exams:
- Exam 70-169: TS: Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard, Configuring (Effective October 2011)
- Exam 70-515 : TS: Web Applications Development with Microsoft .NET Framework 4
- Exam 70-523 : Upgrade: Transition your MCPD .NET Framework 3.5 Web Developer Skills to MCPD .NET Framework 4.0 Web Developer
- Exam 70-642 : TS: Windows Server 2008, Network Infrastructure, Configuring
- Exam 70-648 : TS: Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 MCSA to, Windows Server 2008, Technology Specializations
- Exam 70-649 : TS: Upgrading your MCSE on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008, Technology Specialist
- Exam 70-653 : TS: Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuring
- Exam 70-680: TS: Windows 7, Configuring (Effective October 2011)
- Exam 70-683 : TS: Windows 7, Preinstalling for OEMs
Here is a list of software included in the MAPS subscriptions:
Office
- Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 – 10 Licenses
- Microsoft Project Professional 2010 – 5 Licenses
- Microsoft Visio Professional 2010 – 10 Licenses
- Microsoft Business Contact Manager 2010 – 10 Licenses
- Microsoft MapPoint North America 2011 or Microsoft MapPoint Europe 2010 – 10 Licenses
Server
Ms Action Pack Member Download
- Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Standard – 1 License
- Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Standard client access licenses (CALs) – 10 Licenses
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Standard – 1 License
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Standard CALs – 10 Licenses
- Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise – 1 License
- Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise CALs – 10 Licenses
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise – 1 License
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 CALs – 10 Licenses
- Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 client management license (ML) – 10 Licenses
- Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 server ML Enterprise – 3 Licenses
- Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 Management Server – 1 License
- Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 server ML Enterprise – 3 Licenses
- Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 client ML – 10 Licenses
Windows
- Windows 7 Professional- 10 Licenses
- Windows 7 Ultimate – 1 License
Windows Server
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise- 1 License
- Windows Server 2008 CALs (not edition specific) – 10 Licenses
- Windows Server 2008 Terminal Server CALs – 10 Licenses
- Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials – 1 License
- Windows Web Server 2008 R2 – 1 License
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation – 1 License
- Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials – 1 License
- Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard – 1 License
- Windows Small Business Server 2011 CALs – 10 Licenses
Business Solutions
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM Workgroup Server 2011 1 Server
- 5 Users Maximum An upgrade license for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2011 is available for companies that want to support more than five users.
Additional Software included in the Design and Development Subscription
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional
- Microsoft Expression Studio 4 Web Professional 3 Licenses
- Also included: Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter for development and testing.
For Further Reading:
https://partner.microsoft.com/40016455
http://rcpmag.com/articles/2011/03/09/microsoft-partner-network-cost.aspx
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Microsoft Action Pack is an annual subscription from Microsoft for Microsoft partners, and one of the advertised benefits is 'three Visual Studio Professional licenses'. When I log in, I can see some of the other software benefits, but I can not find out how to download VS Professional except as a 90 day trial. Any ideas?
3 Answers
If anyone is still looking for an answer:
At the time of this writing each Action Pack subscription grants'a Visual Studio Professional subscription [...] to individuals that are assigned the role of technical contact'(source: Partner Network Program Administrator Guide).Meaning: the 3 Persons listed in the Partner Membership Center at the Program Contacts (Partner Membership Center >Requirements & Assets >Assign Contact Roles) section with the role of eitherFirst-, Second-, or Third Technical Contact get a Visual Studio Professional subscription in their Microsoft Account.
These following steps get you there:
Make sure that every person which wants to use Visual Studio is associated with your Partner Organization ID.
If someone is missing, you can send out invitations with the form at Partner Membership Center >Requirements & Assets >Invite People to Associate >Add new People. You can already assign them the required Technical Contact role on that invitation form.
Alternatively you can give them your Organization Partner ID and they can request association with your company when they login to the Partner Membership Center.
Using the login link included in the invitation email each person has to accept the association to your organization.
If you haven't already assigned the Technical Contact role at the invitation form, you can assign (or change) that role at Partner Membership Center >Requirements & Assets >Assign Contact Roles.
After those steps the subscription will show up at the persons Visual Studio Subscriptions page. There might be some time between the association and the subscription showing up - in one of my cases it took several hours after the person was already successfully listed as technical contact.
Also in my experience the subscription only shows up when the persons mail address that is used for the Microsoft Account is the same address listed in the Partner Membership Center. While you can accept the invitation logged in with a different (i.e. private) account, the Visual Studio Professional subscription itself is only granted to a Microsoft account with the same email as the email to which the invitation was issued.
Action Pack Software And Keys
Before I had posted the question, I had googled to see if I could find the answer, and I went round and round and round Microsoft's partner website. All the software benefits were available to download at that site, except Visual Studio!
Microsoft's UK Twitter account suggested I contact support - they showed me that I had to set up a technical contact for my account, then go to MSDN (which I don't have), and activate the benefit there. To make things a little more complex, my partner login email is different from my MSDN login email.
With the new partner dashboard there is a new way to gain your visual studio licenses.
Please follow this article: Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Visual Studio Subscriptions: Access and Manage your Visual Studio subscriptions
Note: If you have to choose between MAPS and LAPS after clicking 'Benefits', just choose MAPS. Then you should be able to see the subscriptions as shown in their screenshots.