One reason a business may be hesitant to move their servers to a cloud computing provider is their current licensing structures make it difficult. In July, it will be easier than ever for businesses to use the cloud. Microsoft announced that on July 1st, it will allow customers the flexibility of deploying their servers on-premises or on the Cloud through a Microsoft Service Provider. The new licensing structure is called “License Mobility.”
Let’s say you have a current set of Microsoft servers with volume licensing purchased under Software Assurance. Previously, if you wanted to host those servers in the Cloud, you would eat the cost of those licenses and have to buy more. In July, however, the cost advantage of the cloud will apply to even your existing licenses.
From the Microsoft announcement:
“License mobility will cover Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SharePoint Server, Microsoft Lync Server, Microsoft System Center servers, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Licenses for application servers that are covered under software assurance can be run in service providers’ datacenters on shared hardware for that customer’s dedicated use.
Also notable, for customers who wish to use Software as a Service (SaaS) from their Service Providers, Microsoft will expand the Subscriber Access Licenses (SAL) for SA SKUs to cover Enterprise SAL licenses for Exchange Server, Lync Server and SharePoint Server.”