Microsoft Bids Farewell to Traditional Server Models – What’s Next?

Microsoft Bids Farewell to Traditional Server Models – What’s Next?

Starting July 2025, the licensing model for Microsoft’s on-premise products will undergo a fundamental change: Prices for local server solutions like Exchange, SharePoint, or Skype for Business will increase by up to 20%, and perpetual licenses will be discontinued. The direction is clear: The path leads to the cloud.

A Strategic Shift – with Consequences

Microsoft’s argument: On-premise products incur high development and maintenance costs. The result is a clear focus on cloud services. However, for companies with sensitive or business-critical systems, the question arises: Is the public cloud really the right place for my data and workloads?

Many organizations – especially in industrial, scientific, or public sectors – require local control, guaranteed availability, and compliance with strict regulatory requirements. However, the new pricing structures make these demands increasingly costly.

Hyperscalers vs. Independence: New Challenges in the Public Cloud

The major cloud platforms offer flexibility, scalability, and a wide range of services. Nevertheless, they also present new challenges:

• Dependency on proprietary ecosystems

• Limited digital sovereignty

• Complexity in data protection and compliance

• Cost explosion due to opaque pricing models

What begins as an innovation driver can quickly become an uncontrollable black box – especially when critical infrastructure is involved.

Private Cloud as a Strategic Option

Those who wish to combine control, security, and flexibility should consider private cloud concepts based on open technologies. Modern platforms, such as those based on Kubernetes, enable highly automated operational models – both in one’s own data center and in European cloud environments.

ayedo: Your Partner for Cloud-Native Software Operations – Independent of Hyperscalers

ayedo offers a fully managed infrastructure platform for containerized applications – GDPR-compliant, certified, highly available. Companies can freely choose whether to operate their systems in the public cloud, on-premise, or hybrid.

Our focus:

• Cloud-native technologies with Kubernetes as the foundation

• European data centers & certified processes (ISO 27001)

• 24/7 operations & personal engineering support

• Full control over data and infrastructure

Tech in Detail: Platform Architecture According to Modern Standards

ayedo delivers production-ready components for modern development and operational processes. This includes:

• Managed Kubernetes Clusters

• DevOps tooling and GitOps pipelines

• Monitoring, logging, alerting

• Managed identity solutions

• Container registries and secure deployment flows

• Edge services for global performance

By combining these building blocks, a platform is created that offers maximum efficiency and security to both developers and IT departments – without vendor lock-in or hidden complexity.

Who Is This Relevant For?

• Authorities & Public Institutions: GDPR and digital sovereignty are mandatory.

• Industry & Manufacturing: Availability and real-time data processing are crucial.

• Research & Education: Need for high-performance infrastructure for large data volumes.

• SaaS Providers & Startups: Efficient operational models without their own operations department.

• SMEs & Enterprise IT: Need for predictable costs, high availability, and personal support.

Conclusion: Cloud Strategies Need Rethinking

The days of simple decisions between “cloud or not” are over. The trend towards the public cloud is real, but not without alternatives. Those who want to plan long-term should rely on flexible, future-proof architectures – independent of the provider.

With the ayedo Cloud Platform, we offer a model that combines technical excellence, regulatory security, and economic predictability. Cloud – but on your terms.