customer FAQs
MICROSOFT LICENSING
AND G-SPLA FOR GCLOUD 9
Q
What is happening to the current
Microsoft government discount for GSPLA?
Microsoft are withdrawing the discount for
government’s use of Services Provider Licensing
Agreement (SPLA) – known as G-SPLA, meaning
Microsoft license costs are increasing to match the
corporate SPLA license costs.
Q
What does this mean for UKCloud
customers?
Over the past five years, as UKCloud exclusively
serve public sector, we have been delighted to pass
through discounted Microsoft license costs via the GSPLA scheme. Microsoft’s withdrawal of this discount
for government organisations, along with their recent
announcements of increased prices to realign with the
Euro, means that G-Cloud customers will incur higher
costs for renting Microsoft licenses via SPLA.
All Microsoft licensing within G-Cloud 9 services from
UKCloud (and likely other G-Cloud providers) now
reflect the non-discounted and re-aligned Microsoft
prices.
Q
Why is Microsoft making this change?
UKCloud has recently received confirmation of
Microsoft’s intention to continue with the final
withdrawal of G-SPLA discounts on 30 June 2017.
Microsoft state that this is consistent with the terms of
the current version of the G-SPLA agreement. In
addition, in October 2016, Microsoft announced an
average increase of SPLA prices of 13% to realign
costs with the Euro, effective from 1 January 2017.
Q
When will the new Microsoft prices come
into effect?
Although the increased costs announced in October
2016 have already taken effect, UKCloud has chosen
to defer price increases to customers until the GSPLA discounts expire on 30 June 2017. Therefore,
UKCloud will apply the increased Microsoft SPLA
prices from 1 July 2017 via revised service definitions
submitted for G-Cloud 9. UKCloud will not
retrospectively charge customers the increased price.
Microsoft Licensing and G-SPLA FAQ
© UKCloud Ltd, 2017
Q
What Microsoft products are affected by
these changes?
All Microsoft products currently offered under SPLA
are affected by their price increase: As per the
Microsoft licensing currently available from UKCloud,
this mainly affects:
•
•
•
•
Q
Windows Server Operating System (OS)
SQL Server (Standard and Enterprise)
Applications such as Office and Visual Studio
Remote Desktop Server (RDS)
Does the price increase affect existing
contracts?
We are currently exploring the impact of the price
increases on our existing customer contracts and will
issue a separate communication in due course.
Q
What can I do to avoid the increased cost
of Microsoft licenses?
As the cost of underlying UKCloud services is not
being increased, you could consider migrating from
Microsoft Windows Server OS to Linux OS Virtual
Machines, and move from Microsoft SQL Server to
open-source relational databases like Postgres. You
could also look at downsizing the Microsoft Windows
Virtual Machines giving you access to cheaper
licensing.
You also have the option to bring your own existing
licenses for SQL Server and other selected Microsoft
applications covered under Microsoft License Mobility.
However, due to the terms and conditions of Microsoft
licensing, this option is not available for Microsoft
Windows Server OS. For more information on what
applications are eligible for the Microsoft License
mobility scheme please refer to the How to License
Microsoft applications/software on the UKCloud
platform.
Q
Does this mean UKCloud is increasing its
core prices to customers like the global
hyperscalers have?
No, prices for UKCloud services are not being
increased. This price rise only affects Microsoft
licenses via SPLA. You can avoid paying these higher
Microsoft costs by using non-Microsoft OS/software
on UKCloud Virtual Machines as outlined in the
answer above.
Open
UKC-GEN-514 • 03/2017
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