Azure CSP Pricing

Saving 50% on your Windows Server license

As a smart partner you use the Windows Server CSP Subscription license (1y or 3y) on Azure under AHB. That saves you 90% on the comparable PAYG Windows server license that you pay if you deploy a Windows Server in Azure with the Windows Server license included. (if this is new to you, read my previous blogs).

However, you can save a lot more on the Windows Server CSP Subscription license. In recent years, more than a thousand Azure migrate business cases have been processed by our application. As it turns out, the configuration of a typical VM has 3.6 cores and is 13.1 GB. More than 70% of the VMs that are migrated to Azure have 8 cores or less, especially after the ‘right sizing’ of the VM configuration.

If you provide your Azure Windows VMs with a Windows Server license via AHB and a CSP Subscription license, you will probably provide every VM with a 16-core license, even though 80% do not use 16 cores. That is the general license condition. However, an interesting condition has been added for all Azure implementations:

Each set of 16 core licenses entitles Customer to use Windows Server on Microsoft Azure on up to 16 Virtual Cores allocated across two or fewer Azure Base Instances. Each additional set of 8 core licenses entitles use on up to 8 additional Virtual Cores on one Base Instance.

(If you want to read it yourself: Commercial Licensing Terms (microsoft.com))

This means that you can use a 16 core Windows Server license on two VMs that do not have more than 8 cores and that is in 70% of the cases. It takes some administration but saves 50% of the license costs.

When we point out this condition to partners, all are surprised and unaware of this code. Even the Microsoft specialists from the Partner channel are unaware. This is because the Azure Pricing calculator does not provide any means for partners to see and thus understand the benefits of CSP Subscription licensing. 

With the Smart Azure Calculator, you can do this, except that you can make quotes much faster, these calculations are also much more competitive. Users of the Smart Azure Calculator double the success rate from quotes.

Experience for yourself how you can save a lot of time and make better offers with the Smart Azure calculator. We offer you free of charge to work out an Azure migrate business case together, so that you can experience it yourself. Mail me: herb@thecloudlab.com