We all know how big cloud computing is. And you might be aware that a lawsuit was brought against Microsoft alleging its practices in the cloud were unfair. Technically, this case was brought in the European Union, but now Microsoft has responded to it by changing these practices worldwide. It is not clear that this will suffice in settling the lawsuit.
These changes do not apply to what Microsoft refers to as “Listed Providers” – that is, Microsoft, Alibaba, AWS, and Google. However, Microsoft allows for Clients who want to acquire licenses directly from a Listed Provider.
There are five (5) parts to Microsoft’s announcement:
- A new Flexible Virtualization benefit allows running the software on multitenant clouds. That is, on either a dedicated environment or a shared environment.
- An option to license Windows Server on a virtual core basis, licensing only the virtual cores required.
- The Virtual Desktop Application add-on has been removed for Microsoft 365 Plans F3, E3, and E5.
- The new Flexible Virtualization benefit allows for an organization to obtain desktop and server licenses via their Cloud Solution Provider (often pre-built) or via BYOL.
- Both single year as well as three-year subscriptions are available for many products. This may provide cost savings for longer-term usages.
Both the Flexible Virtualization benefit and licensing Windows Server by core require active Software Assurance.
When planning for a cloud-based deployment. It would be important to keep these changes in mind. Perhaps Miro can work a deal, so call us.