Microsoft TechNet has been a staple subscription for IT companies that heavily rely on Microsoft products. It’s a relatively low-cost solution that would allow IT managers to deploy evaluation software copies that can be used as long as they’re subscribed, or peruse the support forum and resources to troubleshoot IT problems.
All that will come to an end as Microsoft just announced that they will be retiring the TechNet subscription service. Last day to subscribe or renew a subscription would be on August 31, 2013 and you can activate it until September 30, 2013 only. Active subscribers will still have access to the program until their subscription period concludes. This means that the TechNet benefits portal and subscriber downloads page will be available until September 30, 2014 only.
However, the pricier MSDN subscription is not affected and will still continue.
According to Microsoft, they decided to retire the TechNet subscription service due to the evolution of IT trends and business dynamics. Usage in the recent years have shifted from paid to free evaluation experiences and resources.