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Licensing

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is an ever-expanding set of cloud services to help your organization meet your business challenges. It’s the freedom to build, manage, and deploy applications on a massive, global network using your favorite tools and frameworks.

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For details about Microsoft Azure products and services, including customer examples, visit the Azure website.

How can I buy Azure?

Choose the purchasing option that works best for your organization. Or, use any of the options simultaneously.

For more details on how to purchase Azure, visit the Azure Purchase FAQ

Azure licensing FAQ

  • The Azure Hybrid Benefit helps you get more value from your Windows Server licenses and save up to 40 percent* on virtual machines. You can use the benefit with Windows Server Datacenter and Standard edition licenses covered with Software Assurance or Windows Server Subscriptions. Depending on the edition, you can convert or re-use your licenses to run Windows Server virtual machines in Azure and pay a lower base compute rate (Linux virtual machine rates). For more details, see Azure Hybrid Benefit.

    * Actual savings may vary based on region, instance type, or usage.

     

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    Azure Reserved Virtual Machine (VM) Instances enable customers to reserve VMs on Azure for one-year or three-year terms based on better pricing, and greater simplicity and flexibility:

    • Significantly reduce costs—up to 72 percent compared to pay-as-you-go prices—with one-year or three-year terms on Windows and Linux virtual machines (VMs). When you combine the cost savings gained from Azure Reserved VM Instances with the added value of the Azure Hybrid Benefit, you can save up to 80 percent*
    • Lower your total cost of ownership by combining Azure Reserved Instances with pay-as-you-go prices to manage costs across predictable and variable workloads. In many cases, you can further reduce your costs with reserved instance size flexibility.
    • What's more, you can now improve budgeting and forecasting with a single upfront payment, making it easy to calculate your investments.

    For more details, see Azure Reserved Virtual Machine Instances.

    * The 80% saving is based on the combination of Windows Server and three-year Azure Reserved Instance. The estimate does not include Software Assurance costs. Sample annual cost comparison of two D2V3 Windows Server VMs. Savings based on two D2V3 VMs in US West 2 Region running 744 hours/month for 12 months; Base compute rate at SUSE Linux Enterprise rate for US West 2. Azure pricing as of 04/24/2018. Prices subject to change. Actual savings may vary based on location, instance type, or usage.

     

     

  • Use the Azure pricing calculator to better understand the pricing of Microsoft Azure Services. Prices shown on the calculator do not reflect any discounts that may be applied by Microsoft or your reseller.

  • Your Microsoft Azure subscription includes account management and billing support. Additional technical support for your Azure workloads is available through a variety of offers. Visit the Azure website for more information.

  • Yes, if you have Software Assurance (SA) you can use License Mobility or Azure Hybrid Benefits to "bring-your-own-license" for all Virtual Machines supported server products. License Mobility does not apply to Windows Server. Azure Hybrid Benefits apply to Windows Server and SQL Server only.

  • Yes, security and privacy are built into the Azure platform. Microsoft is committed to the highest levels of trust, transparency, standards conformance, and regulatory compliance with the most comprehensive set of compliance offerings of any cloud service provider. Learn more.