Windows Server licensing is expensive. Costs quickly mount that can impact operations, especially when IT departments need to undertake an upgrade of their Active Directory server(s). For a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), a five-figure expenditure like this can acutely restrict what IT is able to accomplish in a given year. What鈥檚 more, the costs aren鈥檛 only financial: IT might not be as effective in enabling other departments to be more productive themselves given the time and effort this kind of administrative work might entail.
AD alternatives do exist that centrally manage user identities, access control, and devices for less money. It鈥檚 also possible to extend the lifespan of your IT infrastructure through these same complementary cloud services, offloading the high administrative and operational overhead required to maintain a datacenter which increases the total possible savings even further. As opposed to sending it all to Microsoft, resources can be better allocated to other organizational priorities that make a real difference to your organization.
Windows Server Licensing Costs
Speaking as a former IT director, this scenario feels all too personal: considering a big expenditure like this incites a moment of dread, but a decision must be made because the application server that your domain controller runs on has become too long in the tooth. You put it off as long as you reasonably could, even though your MSP partner probably has been nagging you to upgrade your hardware. A new server that can meet your will cost five figures. And surprise 鈥� since you last needed to look, Microsoft has modified its licensing regime to function on a (not to mention every other Client Access License you need). The server rig will now cost you over $5,000 more than you anticipated, just to license Windows and avoid an from Microsoft.
Microsoft licensing is complex (depending upon your agreement) and takes effort to demystify. The following is an unofficial tally of what the Windows Server licensing cost would be for an 8-core server.
Datacenter Management Costs
And that’s just the beginning. You probably haven鈥檛 updated the version of your virtualization platform since you bought your server (and the new version requires downtime for a migration). Opportunity cost, time, and budget will get swallowed up by your server infrastructure. Not to mention, you鈥檒l be paying for your partners to come on-site for a day to set up that hardware. Those visits usually result in side conversations regarding an upgrade to your network hardware.
This is a real-life example 鈥� ouch.
Rationalizing Your Time and Spending
It鈥檚 worth taking a look at the advantages of newer cloud alternatives to either (i) replace the domain controller or (ii) extend what existing technology investments provide. 黑料海角91入口鈥檚 open directory platform works cross-OS to manage devices either independent of a domain controller or alongside domain joined devices. For instance, it鈥檚 possible to manage single sign-on (SSO), deploy multi-factor authentication (everywhere), keep devices up-to-date with centralized patch management, offer remote assistance to your users, and configure secure RADIUS logins to Wi-Fi through 黑料海角91入口. These systems aren鈥檛 just best practices: they鈥檙e required by insurers and to comply with regulations.
Since these services don鈥檛 run in your datacenter, there鈥檚 no need for more powerful hardware. With these capabilities in one place, it’s possible to do all of the things that you should be doing to establish secure logins to every resource and manage every endpoint that accesses them. That鈥檚 the essence of the open directory platform: bring your infrastructure and identities, and receive more value and the capacity to control and manage all of your 鈥渟tuff.鈥�
Don鈥檛 Pay the Server Core 鈥淭ax鈥�
Your Microsoft licensing budget can be better spent elsewhere. For example, my IT department鈥檚 highest priorities did not involve managing servers; instead, we needed to complete our ERP implementation. This affected manufacturing, which is how the company made its money. Spending money on server licensing wouldn鈥檛 advance that objective or help us grow.
A more judicious use of resources helps teams to deliver better results, especially during lean economic times. Your work is in service of organizational objectives and strategies, not in service of servers. One could argue that Microsoft鈥檚 objective is to lock you into their infrastructure and offers very little motivation to help you be successful with whatever non-Windows 鈥渟tuff鈥� you might choose or need to use. This strategy might be good for Microsoft, but is it what鈥檚 best for your organization?
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