<P> Microsoft has been engaged in volume licensing since its inception, as the enterprise sector is its primary market . With the release of Windows XP in 2001, Microsoft introduced Microsoft Product Activation, a digital rights management (DRM) scheme to curb software piracy among consumers by verifying the user's entitlement to the product license . At the time, however, the volume - licensed versions of Windows XP were exempt from this measure . (See § Unauthorized use .) Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft introduced two volume licensing methods for IT professionals in charge of installing Windows in organizations, both of which are covered by Microsoft Product Activation: The first is Multiple Activation Keys (MAK), which are the same as Windows XP's volume licensing keys but require product activation . The second is Key Management Server (KMS) and its corresponding keys . Hosts activated via a KMS have to report back to a software license server once every 180 days . Licenses using these schemes can be procured via the Microsoft Software Assurance program . </P> <P> A large group of Microsoft customers are OEMs that assemble and sell computers, such as desktops, laptops, tablet computers and mobile device . In the devices sold by these OEMs, Windows license data is stored in the computer's BIOS in an area referred to as the "ACPI_SLIC", so that KMS can detect the use of previous Microsoft products even with the storage device removed or erased . For Windows Vista and Windows 7, the SLIC data are complementary; a volume licensing product key is still supplied with the device, which the user needs in the event of reinstalling Windows . Starting with Windows 8, however, everything needed to authorize the device is stored with SLIC data . </P> <P> In 2010, Microsoft introduced the Office 365 licensing program . in which Microsoft Office, Microsoft Exchange Server and Skype for Business Server products are licensed based on the software as a service (SaaS) model: In exchange for a monthly subscription fee, software, its updates, support for them, provisioning, administration, licensing and additional services are all provided through an online web - based dashboard . In this scheme, licensed apps communicate recurrently with Microsoft over the Internet; as such, a product key needs not be issued to the user . Instead the administrator needs to sign up for Microsoft account, which holds details such as licensed apps, their number, and payment methods . This account is protected by credentials such a username and a password . </P> <P> Introduced in 2011, Adobe Creative Cloud is a SaaS offering in which software produced by Adobe, their updates, support for them, provisioning, administration, licensing and additional services are all provided over the Internet, in exchange for a monthly subscription fee . As with the Office 365, a user account registered with Adobe is all that is required to authorize software and store payment information . </P>

What is a volume license key from microsoft