{"id":57973,"date":"2025-04-17T12:10:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T10:10:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/?p=57973"},"modified":"2025-05-13T16:37:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T14:37:05","slug":"microsoft-azure-licensing-full-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/microsoft-azure-licensing-full-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Azure Licensing: Full Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Microsoft Azure<\/strong> is a <strong>powerful cloud platform<\/strong> that offers a growing collection of integrated services for organizations. <strong>This guide will help you navigate Azure&#8217;s licensing landscape effectively<\/strong>, ensuring you can <strong>optimize costs and maximize the benefits of its services<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-35530 size-full\" style=\"border-radius: 20px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2023\/10\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2023-10-17-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Hero-1.jpg\" alt=\"UnderstandingMicrosoft Azure\" width=\"800\" height=\"514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2023\/10\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2023-10-17-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Hero-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2023\/10\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2023-10-17-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Hero-1-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2023\/10\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2023-10-17-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Hero-1-150x96.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2023\/10\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2023-10-17-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Hero-1-768x493.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27892 size-thumbnail alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2022\/12\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2022-11-30-Graphics-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Icon-150x150.png\" alt=\"SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2022-09-26-Graphics-Microsoft-Azure-Icon.png\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2022\/12\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2022-11-30-Graphics-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Icon-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2022\/12\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2022-11-30-Graphics-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Icon-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2022\/12\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2022-11-30-Graphics-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Icon-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2022\/12\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2022-11-30-Graphics-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Icon-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2022\/12\/elementor\/thumbs\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2022-11-30-Graphics-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Icon-r8xv6n9yrc5kcypxoxqewsd6hirtxczewpcvx06u7o.png 50w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2022\/12\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2022-11-30-Graphics-Website-Microsoft-Azure-Icon.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>What is Microsoft Azure?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Microsoft Azure<\/strong> is a <strong>versatile cloud platform<\/strong> that provides a <strong>wide range of services, including virtual machines, storage and backup, mobile applications, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT)<\/strong>. These services help businesses <strong>enhance their operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Ways to Buy Microsoft Azure<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Customers can buy the Azure services in the following ways:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong>CSP<\/strong>: Microsoft Azure Plan with Pay As You Go (PAYG) through a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Volume Licensing<\/strong>: Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) through a direct Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA-E) or Enterprise Agreement (EA) agreement<\/li>\n<li><strong>Credit card<\/strong>: Microsoft Azure directly online on Azure.com with a credit (or debit) card<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enterprise Agreement (EA) in &#8220;Extended Term&#8221;<\/strong>: If your EA has expired, new terms apply to your Azure usage. The Extended Term is limited to 12 months, although Microsoft does not stop the services after this. In an Extended Term of an EA, you cannot add a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) or Microsoft Support anymore Microsoft highly encourages you to transfer to another buying option.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Buying options<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<table width=\"591\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"138\"><strong>Azure Plan<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"121\"><strong>Credit Card<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Azure via EA &#8220;Extended Term&#8221;<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\">Buying option<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\"><strong>Cloud Solution Provider (CSP)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"121\">&#8211;<\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>MCA-E, EA<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>expired EA<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\">Contact Person<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\"><strong>SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"121\"><strong>Chat bot<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Microsoft<\/strong> representative<\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\">Pricing<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\"><strong>Typically less expensive than MCA-E or EA<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"121\"><strong>List prices<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Volume discounts<\/strong> depending on size; <strong>typically, more expensive than Azure Plan in CSP<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>List prices + 3% fee<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\">Billing<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Monthly &#8211; Pay As You Go (PAYG)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"121\"><strong>Monthly &#8211; Pay As You Go (PAYG)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Upfront annually<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>or Monthly Pay As You Go (PAYG)<\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Monthly &#8211; Pay As You Go (PAYG)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\">Billing method<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\"><strong>Invoice<\/strong> (PEPPOL electronic invoicing available)<\/td>\n<td width=\"121\"><strong>Credit or Debit card<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Invoice<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Invoice<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\">Commitment<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\"><strong>No minimum requirement<\/strong> and <strong>no commitment<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"121\"><strong>No minimum requirement<\/strong> and <strong>no commitment<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"106\">&gt;1 Mio. EUR\/USD; not less than the current monthly consumption x 36<\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>No minimum requirement<\/strong> and <strong>no commitment<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\">Flexible Mid-Term Sizing<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\"><strong>Very Flexible<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Scale up and down as needed; Unlimited optimization possible; Reduction to zero possible at anytime<\/td>\n<td width=\"121\"><strong>Very Flexible<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Scale up and down as needed; Unlimited optimization possible; Reduction to zero possible at anytime<\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Less Flexible<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Increase is possible, decrease and optimization limited to the commitment<\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Very Flexible<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Scale up and down as needed; Unlimited optimization possible; Reduction to zero possible at anytime<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\">Support<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/services\/microsoft-support-services\/\">Flexible <strong>support options with SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT <\/strong>based on Microsoft Premier Support<\/a>; comparable to Unified Support; covers <strong>Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and other Microsoft<\/strong> technologies<\/p>\n<p>Typically, <strong>save 90% compared to Unified Support<\/strong>*<\/td>\n<td width=\"121\">Requires an <a href=\"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/support\/plans\/\"><strong>Azure-only<\/strong> support plan<\/a><\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Unified Support<\/strong> contract with Microsoft (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/microsoft-azure-end-of-free-azure-standard-support\/\">Microsoft ended free Azure Standard Support on July 1, 2024<\/a>)<\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>No support<\/strong>, because Azure \u00a0Support is expired with your EA; you are <strong>vulnerable<\/strong> to risks and operational disruptions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\">Usage optimization<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\"><strong>Guidance from Dedicated Account Manager Licensing + Services Experts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Flexibly book<\/strong> additional services when you need them:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/services\/microsoft-azure-cost-optimization-services\/\">Cost Optimization;<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/services\/\">Learning, Planning, Implementation, Maintenance, Optimization Services;<\/a><\/td>\n<td width=\"121\">Additional Services<strong> not available<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Guidance <\/strong>from <strong>Microsoft representative<\/strong> if requested<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"106\">Additional Services<strong> not available<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\">Transfer to this buying option<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\"><strong>Possible<\/strong>;<\/p>\n<p>No downtime; No transfer costs; No impact to existing resources and IDs; Guidance by experts in optimized transfer process<\/td>\n<td width=\"121\"><strong>Limited<\/strong>;<\/p>\n<p>With downtime, Resource transfer required<\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Limited;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>depending on current buying option<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"106\"><strong>Not possible<\/strong>;<\/p>\n<p>Transfer from this option before the end of the Extended Term<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">*<a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/contact\/\">Contact SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT<\/a> for a simulation tailored to your business case and discover how much you can benefit from transferring to CSP with SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure Subscriptions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Before utilizing consumption-based Azure services, <strong>cust<\/strong><b>omers need to <\/b><b><\/b>get <b><\/b>at least one <strong>Azure Subscription<\/strong>. This subscription acts as a container for the resources created, and each resource is assigned to a specific subscription.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Initially, <strong>setting up a subscription does not imply costs<\/strong>. Charges are only incurred once the resources start being used. Every Azure Subscription is linked to a payment mechanism, which could be an Enterprise Agreement, a credit card (for purchases made on azure.com), or an Azure Plan in CSP with SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Customers <strong>can have multiple Azure Subscriptions within the same tenant<\/strong> at no additional cost.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Microsoft will automatically delete unused, empty Azure Subscriptions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/microsoft-azure-new-policy-on-unused-subscriptions-blocking-and-deletion\/\">after 12 months<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Managing Azure resources<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-35458\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2023\/10\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2023-10-17-Website-Microsoft-Azure-portal-1024x558.jpg\" alt=\"Microsoft Azure portal\" width=\"800\" height=\"436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2023\/10\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2023-10-17-Website-Microsoft-Azure-portal-1024x558.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2023\/10\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2023-10-17-Website-Microsoft-Azure-portal-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2023\/10\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2023-10-17-Website-Microsoft-Azure-portal-150x82.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2023\/10\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2023-10-17-Website-Microsoft-Azure-portal-768x419.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2023\/10\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2023-10-17-Website-Microsoft-Azure-portal.jpg 1068w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Azure resources are created and assigned to Subscriptions in the Azure Portal: <a href=\"https:\/\/portal.azure.com\">https:\/\/portal.azure.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Save Azure Costs by Optimizing Your Azure Licensing<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-57990\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Reserved-Instances.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"759\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Reserved-Instances.png 759w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Reserved-Instances-500x271.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Reserved-Instances-150x81.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 759px) 100vw, 759px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The <strong>Pay-As-You-Go<\/strong> model allows customers to <strong>pay<\/strong> for Azure services <strong>based on actual usage<\/strong>. This model is ideal for businesses with fluctuating workloads or those that prefer not to commit to long-term contracts. It provides flexibility and scalability, enabling users to scale resources up or down as needed.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Savings Plan for Compute<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-57978\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute-800x260.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute-800x260.png 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute-500x163.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute-150x49.png 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute-768x250.png 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute.png 1359w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure Savings Plan for compute <\/strong>offers significant <strong>cost savings by committing to a consistent hourly amount of usage over one (1) or three (3) years<\/strong>. This plan is beneficial for organizations with predictable workloads, as it provides the flexibility to switch between different Azure services while still enjoying discounted rates. It <strong>can be combined with<\/strong> <strong>Reserved Instances.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Reserved Instances<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-57986\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Reserved-Instances2-800x349.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Reserved-Instances2-800x349.png 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Reserved-Instances2-500x218.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Reserved-Instances2-150x65.png 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Reserved-Instances2-768x335.png 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Reserved-Instances2.png 834w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Reserved Instances<\/strong> lets you <strong>purchase resources for one (1) or three (3) years in advance<\/strong>, which can result in substantial cost savings for organizations with predictable workloads.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-57982\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute-vs.-Reservations-800x326.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute-vs.-Reservations-800x326.png 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute-vs.-Reservations-500x204.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute-vs.-Reservations-150x61.png 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute-vs.-Reservations-768x313.png 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Savings-Plan-for-Compute-vs.-Reservations.png 1327w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Hybrid Benefit<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-57998\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Hybrid-Benefit.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"479\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Hybrid-Benefit.png 479w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Hybrid-Benefit-150x117.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 479px) 100vw, 479px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure Hybrid Benefit<\/strong> allows customers to <strong>use their existing on-premises Windows Server and SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance to save on Azure<\/strong>. This benefit can significantly reduce the cost of running workloads in the cloud by leveraging existing investments in Microsoft licenses.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"container\" data-elementor-id=\"45882\" class=\"elementor elementor-45882\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-20a5c62 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"20a5c62\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-97592fe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"97592fe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Need help with your organization&#8217;s Microsoft Licensing? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/contact\/\"><b>Book a consultation<\/b><\/a> with our specialists and get tailored advice for your business needs!<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Spot Instances<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-57974\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Spot-Instances-800x328.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Spot-Instances-800x328.png 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Spot-Instances-500x205.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Spot-Instances-150x61.png 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Spot-Instances-768x314.png 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Spot-Instances.png 1392w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure Spot Instances<\/strong> enable users to <strong>take advantage of unused Azure capacity at discounted rates<\/strong>. These instances are ideal for workloads that can tolerate interruptions, such as batch processing jobs, development and testing environments, and large-scale stateless applications.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>VM Automatic Shutdown &amp; Rightsizing<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Implementing <strong>automatic shutdown and rightsizing of virtual machines<\/strong> can lead to significant cost savings by ensuring resources are used efficiently.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure Cost Optimization Tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The following sections show select tools for optimizing your Azure cost:<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure Cost Management<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-58002\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Cost-Management-800x462.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Cost-Management-800x462.png 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Cost-Management-500x289.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Cost-Management-150x87.png 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Cost-Management-768x444.png 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Cost-Management.png 1355w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure Cost Management<\/strong> is an online tool that helps to <strong>manage costs<\/strong> associated with Azure services. It includes various views to analyze data and set budgets with alerts.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure Pricing Calculator<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-57994\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Pricing-calculator.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Pricing-calculator.png 560w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Pricing-calculator-500x383.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/04\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-04-17-Update-Microsoft-Azure-Pricing-calculator-150x115.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/pricing\/calculator\/\"><strong>Azure Pricing Calculator<\/strong><\/a> <strong>configures and estimates costs<\/strong> for different Azure products. It highlights additional cost savings opportunities, such as Azure Hybrid Benefit, Savings Plans, or Reserved Instances.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure TCO Calculator<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/pricing\/tco\/calculator\/\"><strong>Azure Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Calculator<\/strong><\/a> helps estimate the cost savings of migrating workloads to Azure compared to on-premises solutions.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure Site Recovery Calculator<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The <strong>Azure Site Recovery Calculator<\/strong> helps you estimate the total cost of ownership (TCO) for Azure-to-Azure scenarios. This means you can calculate the costs for replicating your Azure to a secondary Azure environment as a live-backup.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Purchasing Azure with a Microsoft CSP<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-56482\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-13-Update-Website-Microsoft-Proactive-Services.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-13-Update-Website-Microsoft-Proactive-Services.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-13-Update-Website-Microsoft-Proactive-Services-500x281.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-13-Update-Website-Microsoft-Proactive-Services-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-13-Update-Website-Microsoft-Proactive-Services-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Choosing <strong>Azure Plan in CSP<\/strong> as Azure buying option offers numerous benefits, especially when partnering with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/software\/microsoft\/\">SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT<\/a>. Here are some key advantages:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Cost Savings and Flexibility<\/strong>: <strong>Pay for Azure services based on actual usage<\/strong>, providing a flexible and scalable solution. This <strong>pay-as-you-go<\/strong> model ensures that you only pay for what you use, which can lead to significant cost savings, especially for businesses with fluctuating workloads. Compared to MACC, where you commit or even pay up-front, you benefit from improved liquidity in Azure Plan.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Transparent Billing<\/strong>: SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT provides <strong>clear invoices<\/strong>, ensuring transparency and ease of financial management.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Expert Support and Consultancy<\/strong>: With SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT, you get <strong>included best-in-class licensing consultancy<\/strong> to optimize your Microsoft licensing needs. 24x7x365 prioritized <strong>technical support<\/strong> in the language of your choice, and access to workshops, planning, implementation, maintenance, and optimization services from Microsoft experts is available. This comprehensive support ensures that your business operations run smoothly and efficiently.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Seamless Transfer without Downtime<\/strong>: The transfer to Azure Plan in CSP is <strong>easy and without interruption<\/strong> &#8211; Microsoft only transitions the billing relationship. We have a <strong>proven transfer process<\/strong> in place in which our support experts together with you <strong>migrate your Azure within typically only a few hours<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Access to the Latest Azure Services<\/strong>: Gain access to the <strong>full set of Azure cloud services<\/strong>, including the latest innovations and updates. This ensures that your organization can leverage the most advanced tools and technologies available on the Azure platform.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Stay informed<\/strong>: We provide <strong>valuable information about price increases, licensing changes, new tools, retiring products<\/strong> and more to help you maximize the business value of your Azure usage.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cost Optimization Services<\/strong>: SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT provides <strong>Azure Cost Optimization Services<\/strong> that help you maximize the value of your cloud budget by identifying and implementing cost-saving opportunities.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Enhanced Security and Compliance<\/strong>: With <strong>Microsoft Support Services<\/strong> by SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT, your Azure operations are always covered, and you always have access to a dedicated support team. You even get a <strong>dedicated support phone number<\/strong> just for your business, and we ensure, that your cases are properly managed, escalated and solved as soon as possible.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dedicated Account Management<\/strong>: You will benefit from <strong>ongoing consultancy and support from a dedicated Account Manager Licensing<\/strong> at SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT. This <strong>personalized service<\/strong> ensures that you get unlimited answers to your licensing questions that you can count on.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are <strong>different ways of buying Azure<\/strong>, and <strong>various licensing options<\/strong>. <strong>Understanding the implications of choosing the right option<\/strong>\u00a0for your business is important to<strong> achieve maximum flexibility and cost savings<\/strong>. Organizations <strong>increasingly choose Azure Plan via CSP<\/strong> as it provides the <strong>most cost-effective, flexible and comprehensive solution for licensing Azure<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Feel free to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/contact\/\">contact our Azure experts<\/a> for a no-obligation consultation.<\/strong> We can help you <strong>navigate Azure&#8217;s licensing complexities and optimize your Azure licensing strategy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Microsoft Azure is a powerful cloud platform that offers a growing collection of integrated services for organizations. This guide will help you navigate Azure&#8217;s licensing landscape effectively, ensuring you can optimize costs and maximize the benefits of its services. &nbsp; What is Microsoft Azure? Microsoft Azure is a versatile cloud platform that provides a wide [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":33016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[248],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-microsoft-azure"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57973"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58407,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57973\/revisions\/58407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}