Updated: January 12, 2025 (January 12, 2025)

Executive Focus: The Mounting Risks of On-Premises Server Software

Andrew analyzes and writes about Microsoft's data management, business intelligence, and machine learning solutions, as well as aspects of licensing... more

Microsoft’s cloud-first focus reduces the long-term viability of traditional on-premises server software.

Organizations using on-premises server software face security and support risks along with conversion to mandated subscription pricing models.

Hiding is not an option, so customers should reevaluate use cases and prepare for higher budgets and potential required connections to Microsoft’s cloud.

Organizations with legitimate reasons for maintaining on-premises server software should be aware that Microsoft’s focus is on advancing cloud services, making their traditional on-premises server software products less attractive. The cloud services that are designed to replace legacy server software are receiving greater investment and new features that have resulted in an expanding feature gap. Organizations with legitimate business requirements for using on-premises server software need to plan for the future and take special measures to minimize impacts to their budgets and business operations.

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