Access requests and guidance

Currently, a FIPS licence costs £24 per user per month (plus VAT). This price is subject to annual adjustments by Microsoft – the licence supplier.

On 1 April each year, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) purchases FIPS licences for the next 12 months and pays the fee in full. This payment is passed on to learning providers who'll pay the fee as a lump sum in April of each year.

At the beginning of each financial year, SDS pays for FIPS licences in full. As these licenses are purchased using public money, SDS has a responsibility to ensure best use of those funds.

SDS has negotiated with suppliers to secure the lowest possible cost for licences. These savings have been passed on to learning providers – you'll only pay the cost of the licence with no additional administration fees.

Microsoft determines the cost of each licence. SDS has negotiated with Microsoft to secure the lowest possible price for FIPS licences.

We've passed these savings on to learning providers. You'll only pay the cost of the licence with no additional administration fees.

At the beginning of each financial year, SDS pays for FIPS licences in full. This means providers must pay for their licence in the same way – a full explanation can be found in your SDS contract documentation.

No. As SDS owns the FIPS system, we are the only party that can purchase licences for users.

No. Each system is unique and has its own licencing requirements, even if they're built on the same Microsoft software platforms.

No, SDS cannot secure refunds from Microsoft for unused or returned licences. These are purchased using public money and SDS has a responsibility to ensure best use of those funds.

We issue FIPS licences according to the numbers requested by each learning provider at the start of the contracting year.

As a learning provider, you can minimise costs by only requesting the number of licences you need. You should also inform SDS when licence holders leave or change roles. This allows SDS to reallocate the licence to another individual at no extra cost.

Each licence is allocated to an individual along with a unique username and password. These should never be shared with anyone else – doing so is a breach of the contract rules and could result in action by SDS.

Although, if a learning provider tells SDS when someone leaves or changes role, we can reallocate the licence to another person at no extra cost.

Check out our process for managing FIPS user permissions.

As licences are purchased using public money, SDS has a responsibility to ensure best use of those funds. This means we cannot offer additional discounts to any organisation.