Microsoft have announced that, from April 1st 2026, CSP subscription products have the full equivalent rights of their volume license w/ Software Assurance counterparts.
The big thing here is that eligible CSP subscriptions now have License Mobility (through Software Assurance) rights – so you can take them to Authorised Mobility Partner clouds – including the Listed Providers i.e. Amazon AWS, Google GCP, and Alibaba.
Eligible server products are:
- Windows Server External Connectors*
- Windows Server RDS User CALs*
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Microsoft Exchange Server
- Microsoft SharePoint Server
- Microsoft System Center servers
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Operations Server
- This applies to subscriptions only (not perpetual licenses)
- *Windows Server subscriptions are NOT included, as Windows Server does not have License Mobility rights.
This was the big remaining difference – it furthers the rise of CSP as an alternative to volume licensing and reduces the scope for Microsoft to be accused of anti-competitive behaviour against the Listed Providers and customers.
See more from Microsoft here – April 2026 announcements – Partner Center announcements | Microsoft Learn
Cloudy with a chance of Licensing 