Microsoft announce a change for SQL Server Extended Security Updates (ESUs) as SQL Server 2016 approaches its End of Support date on 14 July, 2026.

ESUs are optional purchases that extend support by providing an additional three years of Critical updates for on‑premises and cloud‑based workloads. You can buy these as 1‑year ESU licences or through a Pay‑As‑You‑Go ESU meter via Azure Arc.

For SQL Server 2014, migrating SQL workloads to Azure removed the associated ESU costs. However, that’s no longer the case with SQL Server 2016, and instead ESUs are chargeable across all deployment options, including Azure VMs and Azure Stack. SQL Server 2016 ESUs are now available, providing coverage until July 2029.

For more details, you can read the blog announcement here: https://bit.ly/4enD0Yg. Subscribers can join us in July for in-depth training. Not yet a subscriber? Contact us at info@licensingschool.co.uk for details.