PolicyPak Enterprise Edition means you get access to all Paks and all Policies within the Paks. You also automatically get any new Paks and Policies we create during your term. You also get every available Solution (aka deployment method) to deploy those settings (like Active Directory, PolicyPak Cloud, your MDM service, or your UEM tol.)

Professional Edition is similar, but there you specifically choose your Paks and therefore the Policies that come in that Pak.

Said another way: PolicyPak Enterprise Edition is the “Get Everything” plan, and PolicyPak Professional Edition is the “A la carte” plan.

With PolicyPak Professional Edition, you may add Paks mid-year and pay a pro-rated mid-year true up, or to transfer over to PolicyPak Enterprise Edition if you would like to “Get Everything.”

PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional Edition enables you to take any of PolicyPak’s Policies and deploy them with:

• Your Active Directory & GPOs
• Your MDM Service (like Intune, etc.)
• Our PolicyPak Service
• Your UEM Tool (like SCCM, KACE, ETC.)

Additionally, PolicyPak Enterprise and PolicyPak Professional Edition will work with any kind of VDI including Virtual Apps and Desktops, multi-session Windows, and more. (See our FAQ on VDI licensing later for specific VDI licensing concerns.)

PolicyPak isn’t trying to do what an MDM service like Intune or Workspace ONE does.

Therefore, PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional Edition enable you to use YOUR MDM service if you wish to deploy real Group Policy settings plus all of PolicyPak’s special management and security settings. You can get the gist of  how we do this in about two minutes here: https://www.policypak.com/licensing-faqs/how-does-policypak-and-my-existing-mdm-service-work-together/

Additionally, PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional Edition comes with an additional entitlement to the PolicyPak Cloud service… which is NOT an MDM service.  It is a client (agent) based system specific for Windows 10.

The PolicyPak Cloud service is instead an advanced method to deliver both Group Policy and PolicyPak settings thru the cloud.  In this way, some customers will:

• Use MDM for some functions, and deploy PolicyPak settings via the MDM method. (Example technical video: https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/482-policypak-and-microsoft-intune/)
• Use MDM for some functions, and bootstrap the installation of PolicyPak Cloud then use (Example technical video: https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/1064-policypak-cloud-mdm-services-install-cloud-client-automatically-join-ppc-groups-and-get-policy/)
• Use PolicyPak Cloud as the exclusive method for Group Policy and PolicyPak settings; that is, they never use (or stop using) an MDM solution because PolicyPak Cloud does everything they need. (Example technical video: https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/471-policypak-cloud-quickstart/)

So, PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional Edition with its ability to use YOUR MDM service and our ability to use OUR Cloud service isn’t trying to replace your MDM service… unless that’s explicitly what you want to do.

You need to show us how many Windows 10 computers are utilized in your MDM service. This is done by you sending us a few screenshots. See the details here: https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/256-when-licensing-policypak-mdm-edition-what-do-i-need-to-send-in-to-policypak/

Yes. But you need to inform your Sales person and specifically enable it, even though it’s included in PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional Edition entitlement.

PolicyPak Cloud is the only method you can use where we store something in OUR cloud services.

Other methods are exclusively in your control:

• On-Prem Active Directory is within your control.
• 3^rd party MDM Services which PolicyPak is compatible with (like Intune) are also NOT in OUR control, and being OK their security stance is up to you.
• On-Prem UEM tools is within your control.

But PolicyPak Cloud is a curated resource. Therefore, your company might have a prohibition against you using non-sanctioned Cloud services.

As such, even with your PolicyPak Enterprise Edition or PolicyPak Professional Edition license you will need to request the use of PolicyPak Cloud entitlement.

You need a license for every desktop and laptop you want PolicyPak to perform work upon. If you also plan to use VDI, you need a license for every connection. (See our special FAQ on VDI scenarios: https://www.policypak.com/purchasing/vdi-licensing-scenarios/)

When you buy PolicyPak Enterprise, you first use our licensing tool to count the number of computers in:

• On-Prem Active Directory (for use with GPO and SCCM, KACE, etc.)
• Your MDM system if you have one (like Intune)

Then if you also want to enable our PolicyPak Cloud as a delivery method, just ask your Sales person or Customer Success person. Then you can ALSO use PolicyPak Cloud and use it all year.

At the end of the year, you true up your:

• On-Prem Active Directory (for use with GPO and SCCM, KACE, etc.)
• Your MDM system if you have one (like Intune)
• Number of computers used in PolicyPak Cloud

PolicyPak only counts ACTIVE Windows PCs and ignores and doesn’t count anything else.

The word “Perpetual” can be a word with a lot of un-clarity when it comes to software licensing.

So, in the next several questions, we explain in detail our required “True Up” process.

In short, PolicyPak Group Policy, Cloud, and MDM Editions are not considered “Perpetual” in that you get to “pay once and use them forever and ever”, like when you buy and license a single copy of Microsoft Office in the old days, Quicken, or WinZip for your home.

PolicyPak licenses are only considered “perpetual" for that currently paid-up year, until such time that renewal time occurs. During the year, you are welcome to “overuse” what you paid in for the year (see next FAQ question.)

Everything just continues to work. First of all PolicyPak Enterprise and PolicyPak Professional are licensed per computer.  Let’s work through an example.

Let’s say you ran the LT tool and discovered:

• For On-Prem Active Directory you had Sales OU, Marketing OU and Research OUs and initial discovery found a total of 3,000 computers.
• For Intune, you discovered 500 computers
• For PolicyPak Cloud, you know up-front you want to use it with 300 computers.

You purchase 3,800 licenses of PolicyPak Enterprise Edition or PolicyPak Professional Edition this year.

Then two months later, you add 100 new computers to each of Sales OU, Marketing OU and Research OU and another 500 to Intune, and you MOVE 100 computers from On-Prem Active Directory to exclusively Intune. And then grow in PolicyPak Cloud from 300 to 500.

Did you get all of that?  How can you POSSIBLY keep track of that!?

Don’t worry! Your PolicyPak investment continues to work fine! We don’t stop working in licensed locations !

At the end of your year, we’ll ask you to re-count the number of computers using LT again and check your usage in PolicyPak Cloud.

So now at the end of the year, you now have 4,600 computers. You’ll simply “true up” to pay for those extra and you’ll “renew” the original 3,800.

We’ll then give you a new license file which is good for another full year. You deploy this license file to all machines (except for the PolicyPak Cloud ones; they pick up licenses automatically.)

And, again, in general, if during the year, you “over-use” there is no charge until the end of the year.

Yes. You must purchase 100 licenses.  If you have fewer than 100 computers, you must still purchase 100 licenses.

Yes. PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional Edition have three methods to enable you to manage non-domain joined machines (after you count the number of machines first.)

Choice 1 – PolicyPak Cloud Only: You can use PolicyPak Cloud to deploy settings to your non-domain joined machines. (Example technical video: https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/471-policypak-cloud-quickstart/)

Choice 2 – Your MDM Provider Only: You can use your MDM provider to deliver PolicyPak settings to non-domain machines. (Example technical video: https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/482-policypak-and-microsoft-intune/)

Choice 3 – Hybrid MDM, then Cloud: You can use your MDM provides to bootstrap the PolicyPak Cloud client installer, then use PolicyPak Cloud for PolicyPak and Group Policy functions. (Example technical video: https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/1064-policypak-cloud-mdm-services-install-cloud-client-automatically-join-ppc-groups-and-get-policy/)

Starting in 2021, you will be issued a “Universal” license. This license can be used with the following methods:

• On-Prem Active Directory & GPO
• Deployed as a file and copied down to PCs, say with SCCM
• Deployed as an MSI file to your machines via MDM

You can see the following video which explains how to deploy the license file via any of those methods here:  https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/1080-how-to-install-universal-licenses-for-new-customers-via-gpo-sccm-or-mdm/

If a Group Policy Object is linked to a parent OU (or the domain), it applies to all sub-containers as well.

Therefore, when using PolicyPak with Active Directory, we must count computers in all relevant sub-OUs as well. Our Licensing Tool makes it easy to see which containers are included and exactly how many computers you must pay for.

So, let's assume you have about an actual count of 3500 machines, but LT reports that you have 7000.

That's a big difference! Chances are, if you're like most on-prem AD admins, you haven't cleaned up for a while. So, here's what we can do to be helpful:

Item 1: PolicyPak's licensing tool has a built-in way to HELP YOU clean out stale accounts; thus reducing your costs and final count. See the video here and watch the first minute or two for details (https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/1079-how-to-request-a-license-request-key/ ).

Item 2: When you are first purchasing and you become a PolicyPak customer, we can let you be "wildly over" your count for your FIRST FULL YEAR. Said another way, we'll give you a full year to "clean up" your on-prem Active Directory. But when it comes time to renew next year, the count demonstrated in LT will be what you will renew upon.

Item 3: As a customer over the long term, if you are "a little bit over", we can usually accommodate this. Like, you have 3500 machines, but LT reports 3600. This situation occurs when you have servers or test machines and/or a small amount of overage. But again, we can only directly accommodate "a little bit over" in this way.

If you have a very special circumstance, it's possible we can accommodate it. You can talk with your salesperson and try to make special arrangements.

But our general rules of thumb is our policy as expressed in this statement.

We want you to use your PolicyPak investment the way your company needs to, when you need to. You don’t need to come to us every time your company grows or uses PolicyPak products for more computers. PolicyPak keeps working in the Active Directory and MDM licensed locations (and anywhere at all when you utilize a PolicyPak Cloud license.)

However, we do require that your license catches up with your usage at one-year intervals. We call this “truing up.”

Before the expiration of each one-year license period, the “Technical Contact” on record will be reminded to re-run our LT tool (aka the License Wizard.)

We simply ask you to re-count where you want to use PolicyPak the next year. You send in your updated license request.

You “renew” the computers from last year, and “true up” any overage.

If have opted in to using PolicyPak Cloud with PolicyPak Enterprise Edition or PolicyPak Professional Edition, that usage is added on as well.

Note: It’s possible you have fewer computers than you did last year. In that case, you pay LESS than you did the year before.

If you have licensed the entire domain (recommended), then everything will continue to work, and there’s no need to do anything.

If you specifically “cherry picked” OUs to license within Active Directory, and then rename an OU, then the computers there will become unlicensed.

To adjust, simply re-run the LT tool and email support. Provided your PAID count is reasonably close to what you show right now, there is no charge and new license keys will be sent to you quickly.

A Mid-Year true up means one of the following has occurred:

• You licensed specific OUs and your OU structure changed mid-year and your number of computers has increased by more than 20%.
• You wish to upgrade PolicyPak Professional Edition to have some new Paks you didn’t previously purchase.
• You wish to upgrade from PolicyPak Professional Edition to PolicyPak Enterprise Edition.
• You have taken on some large acquisition (more than 20% of what you’ve already purchased) and plan to use PolicyPak there within this year.

In all these cases, we will work with you to get you a prorated price for what you need. Then, when you go to renew at the end of you current year, starting at that next true-up period, you’ll simply pay the renewal rate for ALL computers in one go.

If you have chosen the PolicyPak Enterprise or PolicyPak Enterprise editions, which comes with entitlement to use PolicyPak Cloud, then PolicyPak Cloud entitles you to "Yearly Post-Pay Licensing."

As such, you may install the PolicyPak Cloud client on as many computers as you wish.

During every month, each day we count number of computers CONSUMED and produce an AVERAGE across that billing cycle.

Every month will have a "highest number of computers" used on any specific day. The HIGHEST number is used as the "MONTHLY highest number."

Then, for each month in your year, all the "Monthly highest numbers" are added together, then averaged over 12 months.

You will then "True up" your usage for PolicyPak Cloud.

You will also "True up" your usage (if any) for any PolicyPak use with Active Directory, SCCM, or MDM.

Here's an example showing only three months:

• You start with PolicyPak Cloud Enterprise Edition on April 15th.
• April:

- On April 15 you install the PolicyPak Cloud Client MSI on 100 computers, and have thus consumed 100 licenses on Day 1.

- On April 20 you install the PolicyPak Cloud Client MSI on 200 more computers and have consumed 300 licenses total.

- On April 25 you install the PolicyPak Cloud Client MSI on 500 more computers and have consumed 800 licenses total.

- On April 30 you UN-install the PolicyPak Cloud Client MSI on 100 computers, making your consumption 700 licenses total.

Your Monthly Highest number for April is 800.

• May

- On May 1 you install the PolicyPak Cloud Client MSI on 300 more computers, and have thus consumed 1000 licenses total.

- On May 20 you install the PolicyPak Cloud Client MSI on 200 more computers and have consumed 1200 licenses total.

- On May 25 you install the PolicyPak Cloud Client MSI on 500 more computers and have consumed 1700 licenses total.

- On May 30 you UN-install the PolicyPak Cloud Client MSI on 300 computers, making your consumption 1500 licenses total.

Your Monthly Highest number for May is 1700.

• June

- On June 1 you UN-install the PolicyPak Cloud Client MSI on 1000 computers, reducing your license count to 700.

- In the remainder of June you neither consumed nor reduced your license usage.

Your Monthly Highest number for June is 700.

Then, assuming the "Monthly Highest Numbers" for each month was something like:

- April: 800

- May: 1700

- June: 700

- July: 1000

- August: 1200

- September: 900

- October: 1000

- November: 1500

- December: 1500

- January: 1000

- February: 800

- March: 900

Your Average among the "Monthly Highest Number" would be: 1083.

It depends on the Policy (aka Component). You can read what happens for each one here: https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/230-what-happens-to-each-component-when-policypak-gets-unlicensed-or-the-gpo-or-policy-no-longer-applies/

By paying for multiple-years in advance for PolicyPak Enterprise Edition or PolicyPak Professional Edition, you then lock in your per-computer license cost for the duration of your term. Because we’re always creating new things, customers could pay a higher price the next year.

Therefore, every year you still get one-year license keys. And you are still required to “True up” every year and pay for any overage should your computer count increase from last year.

But if you purchase multiple years in advance, then you are locking in your rate across the contract length.

Additionally, if you’re a PolicyPak Professional Edition customer but then you want to add more Paks, that’s fine, but it will be an overage to cover those costs the upcoming next year. (For PolicyPak Enterprise Edition those costs are always included even if we add a LOT of Paks and Policies and functions.)

PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional is software which has multiple methods for you to use. You can use it with

• Your Active Directory & GPOs
• Your MDM Service (like Intune, etc.)
• Our PolicyPak Service
• Your UEM Tool (like SCCM, KACE, ETC.)

The typical definition is that SaaS is something that is "Web-based" or "hosted software."

PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional Edition enable you to use our PolicyPak Cloud service if you wanted to. And that method (the PolicyPak Cloud Service) for policy delivery is a SaaS tool.

But PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional Edition, as “sales vehicle” is not.

Remember: PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional Edition is a way for you to purchase Paks (which contain Policies) and turn on specific enablement methods (Active Directory, your MDM service, Our PolicyPak Service or Your UEM tool.)

That being said, you pay for PolicyPak Enterprise Edition or PolicyPak Professional Edition like a SaaS product, in that you pay yearly to keep getting updates and keep it functional.

PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional have multiple methods for you to use. You can use it with

• Your Active Directory & GPOs: When you use this method, PolicyPak hooks into your on-prem Active Directory servers. Therefore, at no time does PolicyPak have access to any data of your company.
• Your MDM Service (like Intune, etc.): When you use this method, remember PolicyPak works alongside YOUR MDM service (and therefore has no cloud component.) As such, PolicyPak with your MDM service never sees or has access to your data. Your company data always resides 100% within the MDM solution you choose (Microsoft Intune, VMware Workspace One, etc.) PolicyPak never has any access there.
• Our PolicyPak Cloud Service:  We have a special FAQ on this topic about PolicyPak Cloud. You can read it here.
• Your UEM Tool (like SCCM, KACE, ETC.): When you use this method, PolicyPak hooks into your on-prem UEM tool and all your data is on-prem and we never have access to your data.

You always get any Paks which are relevant for Windows 10 management.

That being said, specifically the “GPO Compliance Pak” which contains the “GPO Compliance Reporter” does not come with PolicyPak SaaS Edition.  This is because this Pak/Policy deals with validating that on-prem GPO settings were delivered. Since you’re using the PolicyPak Cloud delivery, you would simply use the included in-PolicyPak Cloud report which expressed if your policy was delivered.

PolicyPak SaaS entitles you to use the PolicyPak Cloud Service.

You are not able to deploy PolicyPak or Group Policy settings with other methods like your Active Directory & GPOs, your MDM Service (like Intune, etc.), or your UEM Tool (like SCCM, KACE, ETC.)

PolicyPak SaaS Edition can be paid monthly or yearly.

PolicyPak SaaS Monthly billing enables you to only be charged for exactly what you use, per month.  Therefore, you may install the PolicyPak Cloud client on as many computers as you wish and you are charged accordingly.  All customers are billed on the FINAL DAY of the month (So for example, January 31st, Feb 28th and so on.)

During the month, each day we automatically count number of computers CONSUMED (that is, where you've installed the PolicyPak Cloud client.) Then at the end of the month, we charge on the HIGHEST number of computers used within the month instead, automatically.  This is billed to your credit card.

You are required to have two credit cards on file to ensure uninterrupted service.

For NEW CUSTOMERS: Note that the FIRST MONTH for NEW CUSTOMERS is a little unusual because you will be billed TWICE in that first month. Then GOING FORWARD in months TWO and ONWARD, you will be billed ONCE A MONTH on the FINAL day of the month.

For EXISTING LEGACY CUSTOMERS who TRANSITIONED to SaaS Monthly billing: Please skip month 1 in the example and head straight to Month 2, as you will be billed for your usage at the end of the month.

Three MONTH Example staring with Month 1 as April "mid month" as new service start date:

April:

• You start with PolicyPak SaaS Edition on April 15th.
• On April 15 you are billed immediately for the minimum use of PolicyPak SaaS which is 50 computers. However, since this is mid-month, you are billed a PRO-rated amount for the initial 50 computers from April 15 to April 30.
• On April 20th, you install the PolicyPak Cloud Client MSI on 10 more computers making your consumption 60.
• On April 29th, you manually retire 1 computer, making your consumption 59.
• On April 30th (the final day of April) the highest number of computers used in the month is 60.
• Your Monthly Highest number for April is 60.
• We will automatically bill you for April for the 10 extra licenses you used BEYOND your pro-rated 50.

May:

• In May you make no changes... maintaining 59 licenses in use.
• Your Monthly Highest number for May is 59.
• We will automatically bill you May 31st for 59 licenses you used in May.

June:

• On June 10th you install the PolicyPak Cloud Client MSI on 141 computers, bringing your consumption to 200 computers.
• On June 11th you retire 50 computers, lowering your consumption to 150.
• On June 30th you install the PolicyPak Cloud Client on 100 computers, bringing your consumption to 250.
• We will automatically bill you June 30th for 250 licenses you used in June.

You can use PolicyPak SaaS and your PolicyPak Cloud entitlement with “full desktop VDI” including VMWare Horizon, Citrix Virtual Desktops and Windows Virtual Desktop. You cannot use your PolicyPak Cloud entitlement with “multi-session Server” based Windows like RDSH or with published apps like Citrix Virtual Apps.

We have a video demonstrating this here: https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/1064-policypak-cloud-mdm-services-install-cloud-client-automatically-join-ppc-groups-and-get-policy/

Our sales team can set up your PolicyPak Cloud Edition trial.

A standard trial is 10 licenses for PolicyPak Cloud Edition for 30 days. You can try all Paks and Policies in PolicyPak Cloud Edition (all PolicyPak and Microsoft GPO settings) for the 30 days.

However, if you have a special case, need more time, or a few more trial machines etc. we’re flexible. Just ask and we’ll try to accommodate your trial’s needs.

Most people cannot use their MDM or RMM service to get the kind of management that PolicyPak provides.

Therefore, PolicyPak Enterprise Edition and PolicyPak Professional Edition enable you to use YOUR MDM (or RMM) service if you wish. You can see how we do this in about two minutes here: https://www.policypak.com/licensing-faqs/how-does-policypak-and-my-existing-mdm-service-work-together/

Additionally, PolicyPak Enterprise Edition or PolicyPak Professional Edition additionally comes with entitlement to the PolicyPak Cloud service… which is NOT an MDM service.  But is instead an advanced method to deliver both Group Policy and PolicyPak settings thru the cloud.  In this way, some customers will stop using an MDM solution because PolicyPak Cloud does everything they need.

LEGACY PRODUCTS

PolicyPak Group Policy Edition

PolicyPak MDM Edition

PolicyPak Cloud Edition

PolicyPak Group Policy Compliance Reporter

Only if your quote is still valid, which is typically 30 days and expressly specifies PolicyPak Group Policy (aka PolicyPak On-Prem), PolicyPak MDM or PolicyPak Cloud. Otherwise, you must purchase PolicyPak Enterprise Edition, PolicyPak Professional Edition or PolicyPak SaaS Edition.

If you wish to get started mid-year you are welcome to do so. Email support at policypak.com and we’ll get the right person involved.

You are required at the end of your term, which can be MONTHLY (for PolicyPak Cloud-only Customers) or for PolicyPak Group Policy, PolicyPak MDM or PolicyPak Cloud customers … one year, or multiple years if you have pre-paid.

We realize that everyone’s situation is a little different, but we’ll work with you on the timing.

The quick summary though is that you can keep using the LEGACY product with existing entitlements until the end of your pre-paid term.

Of course, you must still perform a True-Up and pay any overage and get a new license file and for PolicyPak to keep working.

Legacy PolicyPak Cloud comes with an “implied on-prem / Active Directory / GPO” license. This means that when an on-prem machine claimed a cloud license it would also process directives delivered from Group Policy.  An example of this scenario can be seen here: https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/494-policypak-cloud-and-policypak-onpremise-together-using-ppcloud-licenses/

Warning: when you transition from Legacy PolicyPak Cloud to one of our MODERN products, you need to consider that this is not necessarily true.

If you want to maintain both PolicyPak Cloud processing and GPO processing of directives then you need to transition to PolicyPak Enterprise Edition or PolicyPak Professional Edition. PolicyPak SaaS (our new “Cloud Only” solution, will not enable you to maintain GPO processing alongside the PolicyPak Cloud processing.

It depends on the Policy (aka Component). You can read what happens for each one here: https://kb.policypak.com/kb/article/230-what-happens-to-each-component-when-policypak-gets-unlicensed-or-the-gpo-or-policy-no-longer-applies/

PolicyPak Saas Edition has multiple methods for you to use. You can use it with

• Your Active Directory & GPOs: When you use this method, PolicyPak hooks into your on-prem Active Directory servers. Therefore, at no time does PolicyPak have access to any data of your company.
• Your MDM Service (like Intune, etc.): When you use this method, remember PolicyPak works alongside YOUR MDM service (and therefore has no cloud component.) As such, PolicyPak with your MDM service never sees or has access to your data. Your company data always resides 100% within the MDM solution you choose (Microsoft Intune, VMware Workspace One, etc.) PolicyPak never has any access there.
• Our PolicyPak Cloud Service:  We have a special FAQ on this topic about PolicyPak Cloud. You can read it here.
• Your UEM Tool (like SCCM, KACE, ETC.): When you use this method, PolicyPak hooks into your on-prem UEM tool and all your data is on-prem and we never have access to your data.