If you want to demonstrate competence in Microsoft licensing then the “Designing and Providing Microsoft Volume Licensing Solutions to Large Organizations” is a great exam to have under your belt. Microsoft have a range of certification exams and this one is the one aimed at people who work in the licensing industry.

The syllabus is published here (http://bit.ly/1SFLcUW) and you’ll see that you need knowledge of three key areas: how the individual products are licensed, the programs through which you can purchase them, and the whole range of Software Assurance benefits.

There are a number of ways that you can prepare for the exam. Many people find face to face training the most useful and we’ve got a great one day course. You can find the agenda (http://bit.ly/1G7GumX) and book on a public course running in the UK for just £175 in dates in September through December 2015. Alternatively, many organisations book a dedicated course on their own site. Note if you book on a public course in August or September you get a free Exam Voucher included.

When you attend one of our courses you get a printed copy of our Exam Preparation Guide which has good explanations, clear diagrams and hundreds of revision questions to support your learning. Many people prepare for the exam with just this guide and it’s available on Amazon in both the printed form and as a Kindle book. You can find it, along with the great reviews, at this location: http://bit.ly/74-678-US-Kindle. Thank you reviewers!

Towards the end of your preparation it’s useful to make sure that you’re on track in terms of applying your knowledge in the exam – sometimes people feel that they know their stuff but they’re not sure whether they’ll be able to answer the exam questions correctly. We’ve got a Sample Exam to help out here: the real exam has 40-odd general licensing questions followed by a scenario where you have to read all about a fictional company and then answer ten or so questions. Our Sample Exam mirrors this exactly and you can find this exam here: http://bit.ly/74-678.

When you come to take the exam you’ve got some options: you can either go to a Testing Centre, or opt to take it in the comfort of your own home or office using the new Online Proctored option. If you’re interested in this new approach, this is where you’ll find more information: http://bit.ly/1BoRyg1.

And finally, there’s some good news if things don’t quite go to plan: between 12 July 2015 and 12 January 2016 if you don’t pass the exam at the first attempt, then you get a free retake. This initiative is called “Second Shot” and you can find full details at this link: http://bit.ly/1DjXETK.