Understanding the Microsoft licensing model

I’ve been working with Microsoft software in one form or another for over 30 years. I’ve been a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCT) for 25 years and have spoken at various different Microsoft conferences—from Ignite in 2020 to community conferences such as the Scottish Summit©. One of the most common questions I get is, “Can you please explain licensing to me?” The short answer is not easily. In fact, at a Microsoft conference in St. Louis many years ago, a gentleman brought his license agreement with him to the licensing booth and asked the ladies who were there whether they could explain it to him.

Unfortunately, they were not really license experts, and one of them saw me walking by and grabbed me to assist them. I spent three hours with the person going through the whole agreement he had and pointing out places where he could be saving money. Not everyone can get this amount of time...