September 2016 Hosting and Cloud Newsletter

This useful newsletter has three items of licensing interest this month – let’s take a look.

First of all there’s confirmation that Windows Server 2016 and System Center 2016 will be available in October 2016, with Service Providers being able to download the products from 17 October. The licensing model changes to Core licences and there’s a requirement for a minimum of 8 Core licences per processor. The virtualisation rules are pretty much the same as for 2012 R2: license all the cores with Datacenter edition for unlimited virtualisation, and license all cores with Standard edition for the rights to run a single VM.

Then there’s confirmation that Windows 10 Enterprise E3 is available in the CSP program from 1 September 2016. Licensed users may install the software on up to 5 devices but they will not have access to any virtualisation rights or Software Assurance benefits. Note that qualifying licences of Windows 10 Pro and above are required.

And finally, you’ll want to put 29 September in your diary for the quarterly licensing briefing from the Microsoft SPLA team. The agenda is set to cover the detail of licensing Windows 10 Enterprise E3 through CSP, and Windows Server and System Center 2016 through SPLA. Register for the Cloud Channel Network to attend: http://bit.ly/2c3U8nd or, if you’re already a member, add the event to your calendar here: http://bit.ly/2bPvwOt.

Sign up for this free monthly newsletter here: http://bit.ly/1iVEvxV.

Windows 10 Enterprise Changes

From 1 August 2016 there are changes to the Windows 10 edition line-up: you can still buy Windows 10 Enterprise but there are now also E3 and E5 editions. So, what’s the story here? Well, Windows 10 Enterprise E3 is the new name for Windows 10 Enterprise + SA, and Windows 10 Enterprise E5 adds Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection on top of E3. Both editions are available on per user or a per device basis – check out this page for the details: http://bit.ly/2bgmb2L.

Then take a look at page 37 of the August 2016 Product Terms document to see the new SKUs that are available. Of particular note are the Add-ons which allow you to move between editions and licensing models. This means that you can go from E3 per device to E5 per device, or from E3 per device to E3 per user, or from E3 per user to E5 per user, and you’ll find the rules for these Add-on licences detailed on page 41. In addition, if organisations have fully paid licences for Windows with active SA then they can purchase E3/E5 From SA User SLs instead of SA to move to a user licensing model for Windows (page 42).

It’s also worth mentioning at this point that there are some changes with MDOP with two of the components (Application Virtualization (App-V) and User Environment Virtualization (UE-V)) now part of Windows 10 Enterprise. This Microsoft site is useful for the detail on this: http://bit.ly/2aYEcAi.

Secure Productive Enterprise Plans

Microsoft give some more detail on the Secure Productive Enterprise plans which will replace the Enterprise Cloud Suite.

Firstly, there’s news that licensed users will be allowed one on-premises install of Office Professional Plus, and then there’s confirmation that SPE E3 and E5 will be available through the EA and MPSA at launch in the fourth quarter of 2016, and then later through CSP too.

Read the full announcement here: http://bit.ly/2aaKDR7.

Additions to CRM Online Licences

Microsoft announce new ways for customers to acquire Office 365, Power BI and CRM Online.

Firstly, there will be a CRM Online Professional Add-on to Office 365 E3, E5 and Business Premium, which will cost $50 per user per month.

Then we can also expect to see a new, low-cost Employee Self-Service licence for CRM Online.

You can find the announcement, along with information on the new features of CRM 2016, here: http://bit.ly/1GTderi.