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Amazon/Microsoft Deal Expanded to Include BizSpark and SQL Server 2012

Posted by Jonathan Allen on Nov 08, 2011

Sections: Operations & Infrastructure
Topics: EC2 ,; SQL Server 2012 ,; Amazon Web Services ,; SQL Server ,; Amazon ,; Microsoft ,; Data Access ,; Relational Databases ,; IaaS ,; Database ,; Cloud Computing ,; BizSpark ,; Companies

Amazon has announced two licensing deals with Microsoft. The first eliminates the licensing fees for running Microsoft software on EC2 for BizSpark members. The second allows all developers to run the preview of SQL Server 2012 on EC2. It should be noted that normal EC2 service rates still apply for both.

Microsoft BizSpark is a program for startup companies that offer free access to Windows Server, SQL Server, and their development tools. This program is available for software development companies less than three years old with less than 1 million in annual revenue. Under the agreement with Amazon, BizSpark users can upload their licenses to EC2 and only pay the usage rates that would apply to Linux/Unix users. Without the agreement a higher rate that incorporates the licensing fees applies.

The other program announced by Amazon is for SQL Server 2012 CTP 3. As this is a preview release, licensing fees wouldn’t have applied anyways and this offer primarily represents the continued partnership between Amazon and Microsoft to offer SQL Server on EC2. Pricing for production instances of SQL Server currently range from 1.08 to 3.85 USD per hour for on demand instances. As with other EC2 offerings, reserved instances have a lower hourly fee in exchange for an upfront setup fee.