For the past several years, Microsoft has been actively promoting enterprises to transition to its cloud-based server products. However, Microsoft has still been selling on-premise servers as an option along with its cloud-based offerings. Today, Microsoft announced new pricing for its on-premises server products.
Microsoft is increasing the price of standalone on-premises server products (SharePoint Server, Exchange Server, and Skype for Business Server) by 10%. They claim that this price increase will support ongoing maintenance and updates for on-premises server products, and the updated price will come into effect from July.
In July, Microsoft's new Exchange Server Subscription Edition and Skype for Business Subscription Edition will be generally available. Since Exchange Server 2016 and Exchange Server 2019 are reaching the end of support on October 14, 2025, enterprise customers who need an on-premise version of Exchange Server should purchase Exchange Server SE using one of the following licensing options:
- Qualifying cloud subscription licenses for users (for example, Microsoft 365 E3/E5) If you go this route, all users that access Exchange Server SE must have an E3 or E5 license.
- License (Server and CALs) + SA for Exchange Server 2016/2019 Maintain SA for usage rights and access Exchange Server SE and updates.
- License (Server and CALs) + SA for Exchange Server SE (once released) Maintain SA for Exchange Server SE for usage rights and access to updates.
Basically, to use Subscription Edition server products, enterprises must have an active Software Assurance (SA) or cloud subscription license for all users. Microsoft is also increasing the price of its Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite by 15% and 20%, respectively. This updated pricing will also become effective on July 1, 2025.
It is important to note that Microsoft is not making any pricing updates for SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, or Microsoft Teams cloud services. These price changes indicate Microsoft's continued push towards cloud services, while still providing options for enterprises that require on-premises solutions.
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