Microsoft is excited to announce the availability of Remote Desktop Services (RDS) subscriptions through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program by the end of the calendar year.

This program coincides with the launch of Remote Desktop Server (RDS) 2019. Remote Desktop Services accelerates and extends desktop and application deployments to any device, with ultimate flexibility and scale for your virtualization environment. For more information on RDS 2019, please see our blog that discusses the enhancements.

Customers continue to tell us about the need for more solutions that support their desktop and app virtualization needs and are cost-effective. With that feedback we created a simplified approach to our RDS licensing model for our partners that deploy RDS technology in customer environments. Previously, your customers needed to bring their own RDS CAL with SA to support your RDS deployment in the customers environment. Now a CSP can directly sell RDS subscriptions through our CSP program, eliminating the extra step of customers and partners acquiring different licenses through various programs. With this model, one can enjoy a faster licensing cycle due to CSP integration with other Microsoft licenses including Windows Server, SQL Server, and Office to make it easy for partners to simplify the buying process.

In addition to customer benefit, this simplified business model’s value to partners is in risk mitigation and profit maximization. This enables CSP partners to simplify the sales process with one single sales motion for Windows Server, RDS, and Azure Reserved Instances compared to separate purchase paths for Azure and RDS and Windows Server. This provides price predictability and an easier sales process that will allow the CSP partner to acquire, manage, and provision RDS subscriptions on behalf of their customers via Microsoft Partner Center. This will free up time for partners to focus on their value-add services and winning new customers.

RDS subscriptions will be available for a 1 or 3-year time frame to provide additional flexibility.

RDS subscriptions are available to partners who participate in the CSP program. For updated partner resources, please visit the Partner Center or contact an existing Cloud Solution Provider.

A: With the SPLA program, service providers and ISVs can license eligible Microsoft products on a monthly basis, during a three-year agreement term, to host software services and applications for customers.

 

A: To become a Cloud Solution Provider, please visit our Partner Portal for more information and enrollment.

A: We announced Windows Server and SQL Server Subscriptions this summer and with the rollout of RDS Subscriptions, it is now possible to have CSP partners integrate with other Microsoft licenses to simplify the buying process.

A: RDS subscriptions will support deployment of only RDS 2019 and RDS 2016.