Microsoft Has Recently Announced Some Major Changes
Microsoft licensing is complex and it’s often difficult to remain up to date on the constant licensing and product changes. In this blog we’ll break down Microsoft’s recent major announcements.
Latest key Microsoft updates:
Changes to Windows Server Licensing! There is now an additional licensing option for Windows Server for customers that have active SA on the licenses or purchased them as Server Subscriptions. These customers now also have the option to license at the virtual machine level – both in their own datacenters or with an Authorized Outsourcer. Customers licensed with this new model are allowed to move the licenses as often as needed within the same server farm, and the new Flexible Virtualization benefit will allow customers to use their eligible licenses with any Authorized Outsourcer’s shared hardware. You can find an FAQ and links to the licensing guides here.
Microsoft Endpoint Management Updates! Microsoft Intune will now be the name of the endpoint management family. Going forward, Microsoft will refer to cloud management as Intune and on-premises management as Microsoft Configuration Manager. Read more about the announcement here. Secondly, there will be a new suite of advanced endpoint management solutions available from March 2023 for customer who have Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 or any other plan which includes a license for Intune. Find more information about the capabilities of the new suite here.
Azure Update! Microsoft announced the general availability of Virtual Machine Software Reservations. Customers can take advantage of discounts by making a duration-based commitment (1 or 3 years) when they buy third-party software to run in their virtual machines. There are a whole host of participating publishers – Citrix, Red Hat, and Canonical just to name a few. Find the announcement here.
Defender for Business Servers is Now GA! Server security in Defender for Business is now generally available as an add-on license Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Defender for Business subscriptions, for customers who have up to 60 server instances within their environment. Microsoft announced on 11/8/22 the general availability of Defender for Business Servers. The product can be used on both Windows and Linux servers OS and cost is $3 per server instance per month. Find more information and a 30 day trial here.
Power Pages is Now GA! Microsoft announced the general availability of Power Pages at Ignite on 10/12/22. Power Pages is the fifth product in the Power Platform family and is a low-code solution which enables any user to create a secure website, but with advanced capabilities for customization by professional developers as required. Find the announcement here.
Microsoft 365 App has replaced Office.com and will be replacing the Office mobile app and the Office app for Windows starting in January 2023. The new Microsoft 365 app will be available on the web at Microsoft365.com, on Windows via the Microsoft Store, and in both Google Play and the Apple App Store. Find more information and an FAQ here
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