More Flexibility With New OEM Server Licensing Options Part 2

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In Part 1 of this series I briefly discussed the new OEM Windows Server SKUs that were introduced late last year, which include the options of acquiring SQL Server 2014 via OEM licensing, as well as an option for additional OEM Windows Server Standard licenses to be applied after point of sale, which also include reassignment rights. This post covers the most recent member of the OEM Windows Server family, Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter With Reassignment Rights.

One of the benefits that buying Windows Server through volume licensing programs has been license reassignment rights, and now there are specific OEM SKUs for Datacenter that also include these capabilities. These SKUs sit alongside the existing OEM Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter SKUs, as those looking to add Software Assurance to the purchase acquire the reassignment benefit that way. The server OS license may be reassigned by an end user to a different physical server no more than once every 90 days.

This means that customers who face hardware failures and other disasters can benefit from this flexibility, along with those who want to maintain the investment in Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter over a longer time span by being able to move the license to new hardware as their requirements change. What this also means is that you now have the equivalent reassignment rights, alongside the equivalent downgrade and VM mobility rights as volume license purchases, but with the benefit of optionally being acquired via ROK to help with the initial deployment on the OEM server.

For more information on obtaining these products please contact your local OEM distributor, here is the link to the Australian Microsoft Authorised OEM Distributors, or for questions on availability of these in the Australian market from different OEMs you can contact us here.

Standard for 2CPU/2VM Standard for 4CPU/4VM Standard Additional Datacenter Datacenter with Reassignment
When to position Customers intend to start virtualizing but not sure of its benefits and plan to start small and grow as needed. Customers intend to virtualize and understand the benefits but are not sure they need unlimited VMs. They plan to add VMs as needed. Customers who purchased one or more Standard licenses with their server but have grown and plan to use more VMs. This is the only license that can be sold to an existing server and help with compliance. Companies of all sizes that have demanding IT workloads and require an efficient way add unlimited VMs. Customers who intend to purchase and OEM Datacenter license but want the ability to reassign their OS license to another server in the event of hardware failure, maintenance, or upgrade.
Selling tip Suggest “stacking” 2 Standard licenses because the average SMB uses >4VMs and its cheaper to purchase upfront than purchasing an Additional license later. Suggest that it’s a good idea to start with at least 4VMs since the average SMB uses >4VMs and its cheaper to purchase upfront than purchasing an Additional license later. Point out that this license has reassignment rights and can be reassigned to another server that already has a Windows Server 2012 / R2 Standard license. Point out that an OEM Datacenter license is a cost effective way for customers with mission-critical workloads and the need for high availability to future-proof their servers and never worry about VM compliance. Point out that this option has the lowest TCO for customers who have demanding IT environments that can lead to hardware failure and/or live in areas where there is a high chance of natural disasters.
Max CPUs / VMs 2 / 2 4 / 4 2 / 2 2 / Unlimited 2 / Unlimited
Reassignment Rights No No Yes (to another server that already has a Standard license) No Yes
Sold separately from hardware No No Yes No No
Supports AVMA No No No Yes Yes
Available in all channels /languages Yes Yes Yes Yes Not available as COEM, only available in 10 languages.