The new subscription-based product SharePoint Server Subscription Edition made its preview debut in July 2021.
Microsoft’s senior product marketing manager for SharePoint, Bill Baer, gave a brief overview of the platform’s new features on Tuesday. These improvements are available in the SharePoint Server Subscription Edition. However, there was no discussion about the changes to licensing and support that may be significant under the subscription model.
Microsoft Kicks Off New Licensing Model with SharePoint Server Subscription Edition Preview
Enduring Updates
When you subscribe to SharePoint Server, you’ll never have to worry about missing an update, as Microsoft guarantees. Although Microsoft acknowledged that IT workers will still need to deploy product updates, doing so might be less of a hassle.
Here is how Baer put it:
With SharePoint Server Subscription Edition, you may avoid the time-consuming and expensive process of upgrading to new major versions every few years just to stay supported and gain access to new features. Additionally, Microsoft will provide you with access to the newest features and improvements by means of updates that may be loaded on your SharePoint Server Subscription Edition farms.
Microsoft developed SharePoint Server Subscription Edition with the intention that its software components would be deployed on the client’s premises. Also, the product was intended to accommodate that particular use scenario.
Baer explained that SharePoint Server Subscription Edition was developed with on-premises scenarios in mind. Hence features enhanced security, dependability, and management features tailored to those requirements.
New Capabilities & Capabilities
Having Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.3 or TLS 1.2 as the default for the new SharePoint Server Subscription Edition offering is a good idea. However, businesses will need to deploy Windows Server 2022 with the product to take use of its encrypted traffic capabilities.
OpenID Connect (OIDC) 1.0 is now supported in SharePoint Server Subscription Edition. This makes it simpler to enforce policies on clients before they are granting them any access. These policies include mandating multifactor authentication and creating conditional access preconditions. Support for the Open Identity Data Exchange (OIDC) 1.0 protocol allows for “authentication with identity providers,” Microsoft explained in a new features document. These identity providers include Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) 2016, Azure Active Directory (AAD), and third-party login information that implements the OIDC 1.0 protocol.
Microsoft fixed an issue with the SharePoint Server Subscription Edition’s People Picker when using SAML 1.1 or OIDC 1.0 as domain controllers. Historically, businesses have had to develop their own C# claims supplier from scratch. With SharePoint Server, Subscription Edition, a third-party claims provider is unnecessary.
Changes to SharePoint Products After SharePoint Server 2016
SharePoint Server 2016 and subsequent users can upgrade to the SharePoint Server Subscription Edition.
SharePoint Server 2016 and SharePoint Server 2019 are the minimum requirements for upgrading to SharePoint Server Subscription Edition. Especially for the users of prior versions of SharePoint Server.
System Requirements & Software Requirements
According to this Microsoft paper, the SharePoint Server Subscription Edition requires Windows Server 2019, 2020, or 2022 in either Standard or Datacenter edition. These Windows Server products are compatible with either the Server Core or Desktop editions.
SharePoint Server Subscription Edition server farms must achieve 1 ms intra-farm latency 99.9% of the time over 10 minutes. This Microsoft hardware requirements document requires 1 gigabit per second bandwidth. Server PowerShell for SharePoint
There is no need to install SharePoint Server PowerShell for the Subscription Edition as a snap-in but rather as a module during the installation process. Following this step, the command lets will be “consistently accessible from any Windows PowerShell terminal.” Downloadable forms of supplementary material including information are also available online.
Surprisingly, though, the earlier version of Windows PowerShell will continue to be necessary for many enterprises.
According to Microsoft’s new features paper, “The SharePoint Server PowerShell cmdlets will continue to need Windows PowerShell”. This means that ‘these cmdlets will not work with PowerShell Core 6.x or PowerShell 7.x.’
No Information About Pricing or Support Is Provided
Commonly, there is no need to opt for paid subscriptions to acquire SharePoint Server Licenses. Companies using the server paid once for a license with Microsoft’s Fixed Policy product support for 10 years.
Microsoft’s Modern Policy does not promise long-term support for most subscription goods. The most amount of time you’ll get to know about important product changes is 30 days with the Modern Policy. Also, the maximum amount of time you’ll get to use patches is occasionally only three years.
Microsoft has not updated its October announcement. It stated that Microsoft will begin offering new application server products on a subscription basis. There was silence at the time regarding licensing and support under the forthcoming subscription model.
This change in the subscription pricing model isn’t just going to affect upcoming SharePoint Server releases either. Future versions of Exchange Server, Skype for Business Server, and Project Server will all be available exclusively through subscription models.
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