{"id":1657,"date":"2023-01-23T08:36:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-23T08:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pax8.com\/future-blog\/azure-hybrid-benefit-for-windows-server\/"},"modified":"2023-05-17T21:56:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T21:56:26","slug":"azure-hybrid-benefit-for-windows-server","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pax8.com\/blog\/azure-hybrid-benefit-for-windows-server\/","title":{"rendered":"Azure hybrid benefit for Windows Server"},"content":{"rendered":"

Umbrellar Powered by Pax8 help a lot of customers with Azure migrations and management so they can get the most out of their subscriptions. One way you can save dollars on Windows Server is to take advantage of Azure Hybrid Benefit. Read on to find out what it is and how much you can potentially save.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Azure Hybrid Benefit is a pricing benefit for those with either:
    \nLicenses with active Software Assurance purchased via any Volume Licensing agreement (Open Value\/Subscription, Enterprise Agreement\/Subscription, MPSA, etc) for Windows Server Standard or Enterprise Core licenses, or<\/li>\n
  2. One- or three-year Server Subscriptions purchased via CSP for Windows Server Standard Core licenses.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Maximise your license investments<\/h2>\n

    Azure Hybrid Benefit helps maximize the value of existing on-premises Windows Server license investments when migrating to Azure.
    \nEligible Microsoft customers can save up to 40% on Azure Virtual Machines (IaaS), which is nothing to sneeze at.<\/p>\n

    However, combine that with Azure Reserved Instances, and you could potentially save as much as 80%! There’s no doubt it’s worth looking into if you want to reduce your bottom line.<\/p>\n

    How you can save<\/h2>\n

    Many Microsoft customers have Software Assurance on Windows Server, meaning they can use the licenses they’ve purchased over time (License + Software Assurance, renewing Software Assurance, etc) when moving to the cloud and\/or Azure.\u00a0 Getting full use of past licenses with Software Assurance is a great way to reduce your spending.<\/p>\n

    Software Assurance is available for Windows Server (Standard and Datacentre) and SQL Server (Standard and Enterprise) core licenses and is really easy to set up. If you’re already running Virtual Machines (VM) in Azure without Azure Hybrid Benefit, you won’t need to spin up to a new VM. You can also receive free Extended Security Updates (ESU) when moving your environment to the cloud.<\/p>\n

    Differences between Windows Server and SQL Server<\/h2>\n

    There are some differences between the way Azure Hybrid Benefit works for Windows Server and SQL Server. For now, we’ll just stick to Windows Server. If you’d like more information about SLQ Server, check out Microsoft’s Documentation page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Rights to use Windows Server licenses:<\/h3>\n

    This relates to on-premises physical or virtual servers OR virtual machines running in Azure.<\/p>\n

    With Windows Server Standard, you can use licenses either on-prem or in Azure – but not at the same time<\/strong>. The only exception to this rule is on a one-time basis for up to 180 days, to allow migration of those same workloads to Azure.<\/p>\n

    Windows Server Datacenter<\/h3>\n

    Customers can use licenses both on-prem and\/or in Azure. License requirements include:<\/p>\n