Written by
Mary Jo Foley,
In early April, Microsoft officers stated they might tackle a few of the complaints from European cloud distributors about restrictive cloud licensing insurance policies that resulted in clients paying extra to run Microsoft software program in non-Microsoft cloud environments. On Could 18, Microsoft went public with its remedial plans by way of a weblog put up from Microsoft President Brad Smith.
In that weblog put up, Microsoft outlined 5 “European Cloud Rules.” The true meat, although, is within the deliberate modifications aimed toward leveling the taking part in subject for European Cloud Suppliers in the case of operating Microsoft on-premises software program, like Home windows, Home windows Server, SQL Server and Workplace, on their very own infrastructure.
Microsoft launched the outsourcing licensing restrictions in query in 2019. Clients who had been utilizing AWS and Google Cloud as devoted hosts for operating Home windows Server and shoppers have been affected immediately, however a few of them did not notice the extent of the influence till their contracts with Microsoft have been up for renewal this yr. Microsoft’s modifications round its bring-your-own-license phrases made their contracts dearer in the event that they needed to run Microsoft software program on something however Azure. As justification for its modifications, Microsoft officers stated rivals like AWS or Google are all the time free to make related licensing and pricing strikes.
Smith stated in April that Microsoft would search for methods to treatment the associate issues it deemed legitimate. After European antitrust regulators started digging into associate and buyer complaints, Microsoft agreed to look into the matter.
Bloomberg subsequently revealed a report citing clients who have been none too completely satisfied concerning the new licensing guidelines.
In at present’s weblog put up, Smith stated he and different senior Microsoft enterprise leaders had conferences with CEOs of two European suppliers, plus further conferences with firms in varied European nations. He famous:
“A few of the most compelling suggestions for me personally got here from a CEO who stated that he felt that he ‘was a sufferer of pleasant hearth in Microsoft’s competitors with Amazon.’ It was laborious to listen to this – however he was proper. Over the previous few years, our deal with competing with the most important know-how suppliers has resulted in us not being as attentive to the influence on our cloud supplier companions. We’re making modifications to treatment this, starting at present.”
Smith stated Microsoft will present European cloud suppliers with help in enabling Microsoft on-premises software program to run on their cloud infrastructure. This enlargement of phrases will cowl Home windows, Workplace and Microsoft 365 apps for enterprise and enterprise. Microsoft additionally will make it “simpler than ever” to license Home windows Server for digital environments by enjoyable the licensing guidelines “that mirrored legacy software program licensing practices, the place licenses are tied to bodily {hardware}.” (This was one of many foremost complaints from Microsoft’s cloud opponents after the licensing modifications have been introduced in 2019.) He defined:
“Right now, Software program Assurance advantages don’t embrace license mobility rights for merchandise corresponding to Home windows, Workplace, or Home windows Server, so clients should use that software program in additional restrictive applications or on {hardware} devoted particularly to these clients. We’ll increase Software program Assurance to allow clients to make use of their licenses on any European Cloud Supplier delivering providers in their very own datacenters, equally to how they’ll achieve this on Azure at present, whether or not the {hardware} is devoted or multi-tenant.”
Smith additionally stated Microsoft plans to increase the vary of merchandise that may be supplied to clients at mounted pricing for longer phrases, “which is able to present extra pricing stability and certainty to suppliers and their clients.”
I’ve requested Microsoft if these remedial measures will apply to cloud hosters and clients outdoors of Europe, as effectively — and if not, why not. No phrase again thus far.
Replace: The extent to which these modifications assist anybody aside from European cloud suppliers remains to be to be seen. Instructions on Microsoft analyst Wes Miller famous at present on Twitter that the brand new language does not change the truth that European suppliers and customers who want to run Microsoft software directly on competitors’ clouds are still hamstrung.
