Microsoft’s August 1, 2019 announcement set an October 1 start for revised rules on on-premises software deployed in dedicated hosted clouds. The change targets a boundary that has become commercially blurry: traditional outsourcing versus cloud services with dedicated hardware. It does not erase rights for existing software versions under licenses bought before that date. [shared-2d4be69ee42ecee482d1da71e353d802d360ca17f350b4881fe99dd72c78472a]
The constraint is narrower than a blanket cloud ban. From October 1, on-premises licenses bought without Software Assurance and mobility rights cannot be deployed on dedicated hosted cloud services from the Listed Providers: Microsoft, Alibaba, Amazon (including VMware Cloud on AWS), and Google. Other providers are outside this change; Microsoft said its SPLA program would remain unchanged. [shared-2d4be69ee42ecee482d1da71e353d802d360ca17f350b4881fe99dd72c78472a]
That boundary gives customers incentives to compare licensing routes as well as compute prices. The announcement described License Mobility through Software Assurance with a Listed Provider that is an Authorized Mobility Partner, Azure Hybrid Benefit with Software Assurance, or provider services with licenses included. Those choices may preserve alternatives, but the announcement alone does not show which is cheaper once coverage, migration and operating requirements are counted. The test is whether customers can switch providers without losing viable licensing options—or whether the new distinction makes a small set of large platforms harder to avoid. [shared-2d4be69ee42ecee482d1da71e353d802d360ca17f350b4881fe99dd72c78472a]