ASSESSMENT SCOPE
See the estate before you change it.
01
Estate and dependencies
Establish what is running, where it runs and which business applications depend on it. Record versions, editions, cores, run hours and the owners who need to be involved.
02
Licensing and lifecycle
Check the actual licence metric, existing rights, Software Assurance and subscriptions. Compare the licensing basis separately from the security-update or supported-target plan.
03
Operational responsibility
Make backup, restore testing, patching, monitoring and escalation responsibilities visible. Identify the gaps and the service decisions that need agreement.
A decision pack for each workload.
Agree the evidence, identify what is missing and record a practical next move. Keeping suitable existing rights is a valid outcome.
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An estate inventory with assessment eligibility and blind spots.
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Configuration and compatibility findings with owners and next actions.
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A comparison in one stated currency, with assumptions and charges on separate lines.
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Separate recommendations for licence fit and the security-update or supported-target route.
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An ownership and care discussion for any later implementation or managed service.
When the assessment fits.
Use it before a renewal, an upgrade or a migration, or when SQL Server 2016 still supports an important workload. For ERP estates, include the finance lead and ERP master user so the decision reflects compatibility, close periods and the wider application roadmap.
01
Two decisions for every workload.
How SQL Server is licensed and how it receives security updates are separate questions. Existing licences, a subscription or pay-as-you-go billing may fit different workloads. None alone restores security updates to a version whose support has ended.
SQL Server 2016 left extended support on 14 July 2026. Eligible Extended Security Updates can provide critical security updates when available while you plan. They do not extend the product lifecycle or restore standard technical support. Compare that bridge with an upgrade or migration to a supported target.
Moving SQL Server 2016 unchanged to an Azure virtual machine still requires separately paid ESUs for eligible production coverage. Check qualifying non-production and disaster recovery benefits separately.
02
Agree the evidence and access.
Before discovery, agree the servers and workloads in scope, access, customer participants, dates, data handling and any charges in writing. Schedule work around month-end and year-end close where ERP systems are involved.
Where agreed and eligible, Microsoft assessment output uses Azure Arc. This requires the Azure Connected Machine agent and SQL Server extension on each in-scope server, an Azure subscription and outbound connectivity. Best Practices Assessment also needs Azure Monitor Agent and Log Analytics, which can add charges.
Arc registration does not move databases, automatically change licensing or activate pay-as-you-go billing. Record whether agents will remain connected or be removed afterwards. An instance outside a tool’s eligibility can still be inventoried and compared, with the missing assessment output stated.
03
Make the choices visible.
Decision
Evidence to examine
What to agree
Licence fit
Edition, cores or Server+CAL metric, existing rights, Software Assurance, subscriptions and run hours.
Keep suitable rights or compare another eligible licensing basis.
Security-update route
Version, application compatibility, ESU eligibility and the workload’s remaining life.
Eligible ESUs as a bridge, a supported-version upgrade or migration to a supported target.
Care and ownership
Backup, restore tests, patching, monitoring, escalation and current service responsibilities.
Named owners and any separately quoted service schedule and signed terms.
BEFORE YOU DECIDE
Practical questions.
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Is the assessment free?
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Will connecting to Azure Arc change our licence?
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Do all servers qualify for the same assessment output?
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Does the assessment include an upgrade or migration?
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Can we keep our existing licences?
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What does ongoing care include?
BUILD YOUR BUSINESS CASE
Know what the next move needs to achieve.
The problem to solve.
A licence list does not show the applications, security-update position or operational responsibilities behind every SQL workload. A single estate-wide answer can miss those differences.
What success should look like.
A clear, evidence-based decision per workload: the licence fit, the security-update or supported-target route, the owner and any separate next step.
Bring these into the discussion.
Bring IT, the licensing lead and the people who understand the business applications and their close periods.
Explore the assessment choices.
Useful reading for your proposal.
Evidence, examples and questions to take into the decision.
Insight
26 October 2026
ERP dependencies
The SQL Server behind your ERP
What to check before changing SQL, including the wider GP and ERP plan.
Read the insight
Insight
26 October 2026
SQL Server lifecycle
Pay, upgrade or move
Separate the licence choice from the security-update or supported-target decision.
Read the insight
LET’S GROW.
Start with the estate. Decide on evidence.
Bring your context. We will discuss the evidence, scope and responsibilities needed for an assessment before any work is agreed.
