Your business needs to organize, track and analyze your data. A good database is going to be easy for your employees to use, automate a lot of the process and be tailor fit to meet your needs. We work with Microsoft SQL Server for our clients in South Florida to organize, update, query and modify their data. Companies that use relational databases use SQL to bridge the language gap so they can communicate with the database. Our job is to help establish the MS SQL Server and get you set up with the licensing you need.

Businesses using complex databases will likely turn to MS SQL. This query language allows for a relational database that sorts, organizes and reports the data stored within. The right MS SQL license will give you the edition you need at the right price.

What Licenses are Available for MS SQL 2016?

There are six options available for MS SQL. Developer and Express are free editions, but often not ideal for most companies. The Developer edition is only to be used to test and develop, so it doesn’t cover businesses that use their databases for professional use. Express is available for anyone to use for free, but it is a minimal version of the product—as you might expect free software to be.

Of course, it is the paid options of the software that is far more likely to be appealing to you. Enterprise and Standard are the two main database software editions of SQL Server 2016. One of these server editions is what you want to handle your data management, security and business intelligence. While Standard allows many of the basic reporting, programming, management and intelligence capabilities, the Enterprise version also allows advanced intelligence, data management, security, memory and AlwaysOn Availability Groups. Enterprise is used for mission-critical uses and large-scale data compilation.

There are also Web and Enterprise (Server+Cal) editions that are available for those who might better fit their licensing requirements and software capabilities. These two options are less used by companies like you. The Web edition is for the third party using a Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA).

In the end, you will likely need to choose between the Enterprise and Standard editions. This will be based on both your business size and the capacity limits of the software.

License Capacity Limits

• MS SQL Server 2016 Standard Edition allows for the lesser of 4 sockets or 24 cores. The max permitted memory is 128 GB and the max database size is 524 PB
• MS SQL Server 2016 Enterprise Edition has a core limit the OS max, offers an OS max for memory utilization and 524 for the PB size. The Server+CAL Enterprise version has a compute capacity of a 20 core limit.

How Much Will SQL Licensing Cost?

ECW helps you consider your options and review the licensing costs. These numbers will vary based on how many users and cores you need to have to operate the software. For a basic SQL 2016 Enterprise 2-pack of core licenses, you will pay over $14k. For the Standard version, you will pay over $3k. Additional cores and licenses will alter these prices. If your SQL Server, for example, is working on the back-end of your website for a database, you will need to have core licenses because you don’t know how many users are accessing the server.

Assistance in setting up the SQL Server and maintaining it will have an increased cost. Choosing the right database and getting assistance with operations will come through your IT company, like ECW Computers. If you need help or have questions about selecting the correct SQL licenses, please call us today.

Why Worry About Licensing?

A Microsoft audit can get you in big trouble if you are using their software without the proper license. For large companies, Microsoft will typically lead the audit and play nice with companies that cooperate. For companies that are disorganized or don’t cooperate quickly, an MS audit can get ugly. Even if you are using the licensing correctly, if you can’t show that audit trail, you could still face problems with MS. Anything less than accurate records may lead to a fine along with your HR department being overloaded with handling licensing requirements and records. Microsoft has long been targeting big corporations and is now turning its sites to examine smaller companies that are more likely to be negligent in their PC software inventory management.

Get IT Support for Your SQL Server

Don’t get caught in a bind with the wrong server or licensing records. Microsoft SQL Server support is a great help to lift the weight of this process from your desk and make your database efforts successful. Make the process even easier by using experienced professionals to guide your process. If you need a database that is efficient and works for your company, talk to us today for a consultation on your Microsoft SQL Server options.