Microsoft is offering extended software assurance if you migrate your instances to the cloud. This option is least likely to make sense (and we love the cloud – and the Microsoft cloud at that!) but here is a list of pros and cons:
Pros
- You don’t have to “pay” for the support. Instead you are paying for Azure…
- Same as Option 2 otherwise (though more testing for the cloud migration aspect)
Cons
- If you are doing this to avoid the “pain” of a SQL Server upgrade (they just aren’t so painful!), you are still dealing with a cloud migration
- What about the rest of your infrastructure? Are you ready to forklift everything to the cloud? We heart the cloud, it just isn’t 1-2-3 snap your fingers and done!
- All the same cons of option 2
- “Free” is a misnomer. If you are dealing with a lot of infrastructures you’ve been saving by not upgrading – the monthly fees to take all you need up to a cloud environment may be surprising. It’s a lot of movement and spending to get “free” security updates on an old product!
Good if you…
- Are planning on heading to the cloud anyway and want to use this as a “Swing” option – first, go to cloud and SQL Server 2008, then upgrade with the benefit of (more) time.
- You have no choice as far as vendor apps and supportability.
- The budget to make a big CapEx expense of moving into new gear for the data center is daunting, but the idea of scaling up and autoscale in the cloud is appealing.