Updated: February 26, 2025 (March 23, 2024)

Server OS Products – Windows Server and Azure Local

Jim leads the Directions on Microsoft editorial team and has been writing about technology since the early 1990s. Most recently... more

Introduction

Windows Server is Microsoft’s OS for deployment on server hardware and for use within VMs. It is a prerequisite for most Microsoft server applications such as SQL Server, Exchange Server, and SharePoint Server, and it continues to provide on-premises infrastructure for identity management (Active Directory), virtualization (Hyper-V), storage and file services, and other tasks. Windows Server 2025, released in Nov. 2024, is the latest version of Windows Server.

Microsoft has introduced new server OS offerings, including the subscription-based Azure Local (formerly named Azure Stack HCI) for on-premises virtualization and storage, and Windows Server Azure edition with features exclusive to Azure VMs or VMs hosted on Azure Local. Licensing benefits and availability of new services also favor hosting on Azure and on Azure Local, and organizations will find it increasingly difficult to avoid adopting Azure services and subscriptions, even for on-premises deployments.

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