Microsoft has confirmed a series of pricing and licensing changes for its on-premises server products, set to take effect in July and August 2025. The updates reflect the company’s ongoing efforts to maintain support for customers who continue to rely on local deployments, despite the broader shift to cloud-based services.
In a new blog post, Jeremy Carlson, Director of Product Marketing at Microsoft, noted that the price increases for the Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite will now go into effect on August 1, 2025, a month later than initially planned. However, adjustments for standalone server products – such as SharePoint Server, Exchange Server, and Skype for Business Server – will proceed as scheduled on July 1, 2025.
These standalone on-premises server solutions will see a 10% price increase, while the Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite will rise by 15% and 20% respectively. The changes aim to support continued maintenance and modernization of Microsoft’s on-premises offerings, aligning their development more closely with evolving enterprise needs.
Microsoft emphasized that its Microsoft 365 suites continue to offer superior scalability, performance, and security. However, the company acknowledged that certain enterprise environments still require on-premises solutions, prompting a commitment to ongoing support for those deployments.
Cloud Subscription Licenses
The update also includes the general availability of the Subscription Editions of Exchange Server and Skype for Business Server, set for July 2025. These products follow SharePoint Server’s move to a ‘version-less’ model under the Modern Lifecycle Policy, enabling more frequent updates without major version releases.
To deploy the Subscription Editions, customers must have active Software Assurance (SA) or appropriate cloud subscription licenses for all users and devices accessing the servers.
Importantly, Microsoft clarified that these changes apply exclusively to the on-premises versions. Pricing for cloud-based services such as Microsoft Teams, Exchange Online, and SharePoint Online – whether purchased standalone or bundled with Microsoft 365 -will remain unchanged.
