CISPE members gain access to Microsoft software on a PAYG CSP-Hoster Program
Privacy and sovereignty benefits also come with the latest update
It’s unclear if this draws a line under the two-year battle

In a major win for European cloud providers, CISPE members can now offer Microsoft software under a pay-as-you-go model via Microsoft CSP-Hoster Program, with licensing costs set to be more closely matched to those offers on Microsoft’s own Azure platform.

The news comes after several hurdles in CISPE’s battle with the tech giant, but with the group’s members now able to host workloads without sharing customer data with Microsoft, the latest development marks a major customer privacy win.

However, some ongoing issues and limitations persist even after two years of battling, including the enforcement of Entra ID with Microsoft 365 – no alternative identity management is allowed.

CISPE wins big against Microsoft

CISPE described the win as a “landmark agreement” that has cost, privacy and sovereignty benefits.

When generally available, Microsoft 365 Local will enable deployment on local (sovereign) European cloud infrastructure, while customers will no longer have to pay more money to access Microsoft software on non-Microsoft platforms.

Despite reaching some agreements over the course of the last two years, CISPE’s continued lobbying has produced even more results.

“The agreement we reached with Microsoft marks a significant breakthrough in our long-standing efforts to ensure a level playing field,” CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mingorance explained.

“For enterprise customers, the new programs directly address previous concerns of CISPE members and empowers European enterprises to choose among a wide range of cloud solutions that meet their sovereignty, compliance, and economic needs.”

The news comes just days after we learned that Microsoft was readying a counterproposal after failing to meet a previous deadline to settle the saga.

TechRadar Pro has asked Microsoft to comment on the development, but we did not receive an immediate response. We also asked CISPE if this marks the end of the battle.