Changes:

• Dynamics 365 will include Sales, Customer Services and Team Members SALs.
• The new SKUs/SALs will appear on the February 1, 2017 SPLA price list and the February SPUR
• Microsoft Dynamics® 365 released in SPLA on February 1, 2016, will replace the current Dynamics CRM SKUs

The following SKUs will be removed from SPLA in February 2017:

The following SKUs will be added in SPLA in February 2017:

The following table includes the mapping of the old Dynamics Sku’s (AX & CRM) to the new Dynamics 365 Sku’s:

Hybrid networks generally offer more flexibility, scalability and security over other types of hosting, whilst also being able to perform in ways that cloud and traditional hosting can’t.

Some major hybrid cloud advantages include:

• Increased data speeds – hybrid networks can be configured to push essential data through private servers instead of public ones, greatly improving load times and data transfer speeds.
• Improved security – Sensitive data can be secured on private servers with many layers of encryption that can only be accessed in house, whilst non-sensitive and publicly-accessible data and applications can be accessed through a public server.
• Decreased spending – Utilizing the public cloud for applications that don’t require security is likely to be more economical in the long run.
• Better cost visibility – Leveraging the power of a public cloud will showcase the exact amount of expenditures your are incurring making it easier to estimate your total cost and therefore estimating the right margin that is more likely to generate profit.
• Lowering downtime risk – Most of the time, having both private and public cloud at your disposal means your end customers don’t have to worry about downtime.
• Improving local network operations – Hybrid hosting also allows you the added advantage of being able to shift resource heavy processes through a separate private or public cloud network, greatly improving local network operations.

As it is known in Microsoft SPLA, SharePoint Server Standard and Enterprise licenses are provided under the Subscriber Access License, which means that each end customer’s internal users who can directly or indirectly access the SharePoint Server would need a license. Service Provider will use the software in this case to provide internal users access to content, information, and applications. Therefore, use of SharePoint Server software to provide content, information, and applications that are limited to internal users must be licensed under SharePoint Server SALs.

SharePoint Hosting – Licensing Based on Processors Used

In contrast and in order to provide SharePoint Server as a Website or Hosted and therefore, allowing an unlimited number of external users to access it, in this case, the licensing scheme would shift from SAL to Processor License. Customer may use the software to provide External Users access to content, information, and applications. Customer may also use the software to provide internal users access to content, information, and applications so long as that same content and information and those same applications are also accessible by External Users.

To run Instances of the server software in the Physical OSE on a Server, you need a license for each physical processor that the Physical OSE uses.

To run Instances of the server software in the Physical OSE on a Server, you need a license for each physical processor that the Physical OSE uses. 

Scenario 1

SharePoint Hosting roles are deployed on 1 physical server with 2 physical processors. Therefore, in this case, SharePoint Hosting would require a total of 2 licenses equal to the number of physical processors.

To run Instances of the server software in Virtual OSEs on a Server, you need a license for each virtual processor that each of those Virtual OSEs uses. If a Virtual OSE uses a fraction of a virtual processor, the fraction counts as a full virtual processor.

Scenario 2

SharePoint Hosting roles are deployed on 1 Virtual Machine with 8 Virtual Cores. This Virtual Machine is created on a Physical Server with 2 physical processors and 4 Cores per Processor. In this case partner would need 8 (Virtual Cores) / 4 (Cores per Processor) = 2 licenses.

Windows Server 2016 & System Center 2016 will be available in SPLA in October.

Licensing Summary:

• Per core license model replaces processor license model on October SPUR.
• Each physical processor needs a minimum of 8 core licenses.
• Both Windows Server Standard & Datacenter Editions provide support for unlimited Windows Server containers.
• Windows Server Standard Edition requires all physical cores to be licensed in order to run 1 Windows Hyper-V container (or Virtual Machine).
• Windows Server Datacenter Edition requires all physical cores to be licensed in order to run unlimited Windows Hyper-V containers (or Virtual Machines).

New Licensing SKU’s:

Licensing Scenarios:

• Scenario 1: A physical server with 2 Physical Processors and 4 Cores would require in the new licensing method:

In case of Windows Server Standard:

In case of Windows Server Datacenter:

• Scenario 2: A physical server with 2 Physical Processors, 4 Cores and 2 Virtual Machines would require in the new licensing method:

In case of Windows Server Standard:

In case of Windows Server Datacenter:

• Scenario 3: A physical server with 2 Physical Processors and 16 Cores would require in the new licensing method:

In case of Windows Server Standard:

In case of Windows Server Datacenter:

*The total licenses needed is divided by 2 since each reporting SKU covers 2 core licenses

Partners whose Microsoft SPLA Agreement is not yet expired, can still report the Windows Server Per Processor License until the expiry date of their Agreement.

Microsoft released a new licensing update for products that are licensed under the Per Core licensing method such as Microsoft SQL and Microsoft BizTalk. Microsoft discontinued the Core Factor when calculating the licenses required for these products. In the new Services Provider Use Rights, you calculate the number of cores on the physical server or the number of virtual cores on the VM. You just need to report a minimum of 4 cores per VM/physical core. You can find below the explanation from the SPUR Document.

For Products under the Per Core License Model, Customer must choose either licensing by Physical Core on a Server or licensing by Individual Virtual OSE. The terms for each are set forth below.

Server Licenses (per core) – Licensing by Physical Core on a Server
1. Customer may use the server software on a Licensed Server, provided it acquires sufficient Licenses as described below.
2. The number of Licenses required equals the number of Physical Cores on the Licensed Server subject to a minimum of four Licenses per Physical Processor.
3. For enterprise editions, Customer may use any number of Running Instances of the server software on the Licensed Server in the Physical OSE and/or any number of Virtual OSEs.
4. For other editions Customer may use any number of Running Instances of the server software only in the Physical OSE on the Licensed Server.

Server Licenses (per core) – Licensing by Individual Virtual OSE
1. Customer may use any number of Running Instances of the server software in any Virtual OSE on the Licensed Server, provided it acquires sufficient Licenses as described below.
2. The number of Licenses required equals the number of Virtual Cores in the Virtual OSE, subject to a minimum of four License per Virtual OSE.
3. If any Virtual Core is at any time mapped to more than one Hardware Thread, Customer needs a License for each Hardware Thread to which it is mapped.

After signing the Microsoft SPLA, partner can provide a full Managed Services solution to the end customer while adding his cost to the type of license and differentiate the price based on license type and edition. Customer will have therefore a simple pay-as-you go monthly payment with no upfront cost.

What are the benefits for partner and end customer?

Benefits for Customer:

• Customer doesn’t have big upfront costs
• Customer will have a pay as you go payment method
• Customer always has access to the most current product versions
• Partner can deliver the solution customized based on customer’s requirements

Benefits for Partner:

• Partner now has an option B to capture all lost opportunities for customers who can’t afford big investments
• Partner can add to his offering his support and margin in order to increase his revenue
• No upfront commitment for partner

In addition to that, BPS Team is available round the clock to help assist you in:

• Advising in product selection, licensing, go to market, hosting projects bidding & platforms (Dynamics as a Service)
• Pre-sales advising: Assisting with all licensing questions and queries (by a group of licensing experts)
• Pricing for your end-customer projects based on a design sent per project
• Start now by joining the partner program

Changes to the December “Product Terms” improve the value of License Mobility for VL customers. Microsoft now allows fail-over rights for SQL Server and Dynamics AX on shared servers. Prior to this change, VL customers only had fail-over rights for on-premises software deployments. This update means that partners with authorized License Mobility providers have the same fail-over benefits they have on-premises. Read the updated licensing terms in the December Product Terms document.

These rights are an SA benefit for Dynamics AX Server and SQL Server allowing customers to run passive fail-over instances of the product without additional licenses. Previously, the fail-over instances had to be on a separate OSE on the licensed server or on a different server dedicated to the customer’s use. New wording added to the December 2015 Product Terms on page 82 confirms that this right is now extended to qualifying shared servers as part of the License Mobility through Software Assurance benefit.

Below are the terms taken from the December 2015 Product Terms:
“Fail-over Rights For Products that are also granted Fail-Over Rights, Customer may run passive fail-over Instances on the qualifying shared servers in anticipation of a fail-over event. The number of licenses that otherwise would be required to run the passive fail-over Instances must not exceed the number of licenses required to run the corresponding production Instances on the same partner’s shared servers.”

Email us to splacare@bpsme.com for more info on how to become a SPLA Mobility Services partner.

Microsoft’s Windows Server 2016 and System Center 2016 aren’t due out until the second half of 2016, but Microsoft execs are starting to communicate some of the licensing changes coming to its next server operating system release.

One of the most noticeable changes will be a move from per-processor licensing to per-core licensing for Windows Server and System Center 2016 Standard and Datacenter Editions.
Microsoft officials are attributing the change from processors to physical cores to a desire to align the licensing of its public and private cloud offerings to be both per-core-based and thus simplifying licensing across multi-cloud environments. The change also will align Windows Server licensing with the per-core licensing already offered for SQL Server and BizTalk.

The change won’t likely have much of an impact for most customers. The change really just reemphasizes the fact that Datacenter is what you want to be using for high density virtualization.