STATE OF ARIZONA 
Volume, Enterprise and Other
Software License Agreements 

The State of Arizona purchases software through volume license agreements, enterprise license agreements and other contract vehicles. 

Definitions 

The term "Volume License Agreements" when used in this document refer to contracts with software publishers:

(a) That afford discounts to the State based on past or anticipated purchase volumes 

(b) Do NOT include purchase commitments or penalties if anticipated volumes are not met 

(c) If projected purchase volumes are not met, the only remedy for the publisher is NOT to enter into as generous an agreement with the State in the future

(d) Purchases are run through the State's Designated Software License Agent, ASAP Software. 

The term "Enterprise License Agreements" when used in this document refer to contracts with software publishers: 

(a) That afford discounts to the State based on purchase commitments

(b) Provide for same penalties for lack of fulfillment 

(c) In exchange provide greater benefits to the State (i.e., deeper discounts, low or no cost value-added services, such as consulting, etc.)

In industry parlance, these terms are sometimes/often used interchangeably. 

Statewide Software Agreements

The State has Volume License Agreements (as defined above) currently in place with the following software publishers. The parenthetical information after the name of the publisher provides some license agreement highlights:

1. Adobe

2. Autodesk

3. Citrix 

4. Computer Associates

5. Corel

6. Executive Software

7. IBM/Lotus  

8. Microsoft (see Microsoft Page for more details) 

9. Network Associates

10. Novell  

11. Seagate

12. Symantec

13. Trend Micro

14. Veritas 

Most of these Volume License Agreements permit purchasing by State political subdivisions, such as cities, counties and school districts, as well as by State agencies.

The State has two statewide Enterprise License Agreements. One is with Computer Associates for mainframe and midrange software. This contract is managed by the Department of Administration, Information Services Division. The other with Microsoft is described in the Microsoft licensing section of this page.

In addition, State agencies can purchase microcomputer software from the hardware vendors under the State's microcomputer contract (AD990005), however, they can only purchase software not covered by the State's volume or enterprise license agreements. Other State contracts do permit the purchase of software from other sources (for example, for specialized needs (i.e., fingerprint identification) or as part of an overall "complete" contract or based on a competitive procurement (i.e., Oracle, State contract #AD040034).

If no State contract covers a particular software purchase, the State's quote and bid rules apply to the purchase and dictate from whom and with what level of formality the purchase can proceed based on the amount of the anticipated purchase. 

Contract with LAR

Under the State's Volume License Agreements the State has the right to choose a large account reseller (LAR). ASAP was selected as the State's designated license agent pursuant to a competitive RFP. 

The State's LAR contract (AD990116) with ASAP requires LAR to process software licenses purchased under all (current and future) State Volume License Agreements. All State agencies are required to use ASAP (and ASAP is required to use the State's contracts) for the purchase of software covered by State's contracts with publishers, except in the following instances:

A.  Software bundled or pre-configured on computers by CPU manufacturers (i.e., operating system, etc.)

B. When rebates, publisher's coupons, introductory product promotions, introductory product pricing, special inventory reduction pricing, or obsolescence of product pricing are offered by the publisher only directly to customers (and not to resellers). 

C. Full package software.

To purchase software, a State customer calls ASAP (either directly or through one of the hardware vendors). ASAP quotes a price to the customer (Agency, Political Subdivision or Vendor), collects the $ for the license, remits the proper amount to the publisher and retains the balance (which is equal to or less than the contracted amount (see below)). ASAP is responsible for providing License Confirmations to the Customer. ASAP is also responsible for tracking licenses for the Publisher and the State. ASAP is compensated by charging, in most cases, a percentage above the amount the item costs the State from the Publisher. See details below. 

If the Hardware Vendor is involved, they add an additional percentage (maximum of 1%) before quoting to the customer and retain this amount before paying ASAP. The State permits this moderate middleman fee for the convenience of State customers so if they wish, they can receive and process one invoice for hardware, software, peripherals and services. The Hardware Vendors are contractually obligated NOT to sell software available under Volume License Agreements except through ASAP so as not to undermine the State’s ability to meet its volume commitments.

The current contract with ASAP commenced on May 1, 1999. The State has had prior contracts with ASAP for similar purposes. The ASAP contract (originally scheduled to expire on April 30, 2001) has been extended to November 30, 2004. 

More Information

A copy of the ASAP Contract can be printed from the SPO web site by looking up contract #AD990116. The State's Volume License Agreements are retained by SPO in its files and are NOT available on SPO web site.  Contact SPO for copies of these contracts. 

The Government Information Technology Agency (GITA) provides this information solely to assist State governmental organizations with statewide contract information. GITA does not endorse the use of any particular vendor’s products as is evidenced by its vendor-neutral policies, standards and procedures for technology products.