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Exchange Server Subscription Edition to Launch in Summer 2025

Key Takeaways:

Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE) is set to launch in Q3 2025, marking a shift towards subscription-based licensing for on-premises deployments.

Organizations will need subscription licenses for future Exchange Server releases to access updates, security patches, and technical support.

Microsoft plans to discontinue support for legacy perpetual server and Client Access Licenses (CALs) with Exchange Server SE.

Microsoft has revealed that Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE) will debut in the third quarter of 2025. This upcoming on-premises release will require organizations to get subscription licenses for accessing product updates, security patches, and technical support.

According to Microsoft, Exchange Server SE will be “code equivalent” to Exchange Server 2019 CU15, but it would bring some minor changes. First of all, Microsoft plans to update the license agreement to reflect the new SKU. Additionally, the system name will be rebranded from Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 to Microsoft Exchange Server Subscription Edition. Microsoft will also update the build and version numbers.

Microsoft mentioned that Exchange Server SE will support two types of upgrades from previous versions. Customers will be able to perform an in-place upgrade from Exchange Server 2019 CU15. Microsoft says that this upgrade process would be identical to installing a cumulative update.

Exchange Server SE will also support legacy updates, which will require customers to build a new infrastructure and then migrate namespaces and mailboxes to the new infrastructure. Microsoft notes that customers still running Exchange Server 2016 will be required to perform a legacy upgrade to Exchange Server 2019 to prepare for the upcoming release.

Exchange Server SE CU1 to arrive in October 2025

Going forward, Microsoft plans to release two cumulative updates annually for Exchange Server SE. The company expects to release the first CU for commercial customers in October 2025. It will include support for Kerberos for server-to-server communication instead of NTLMv2.

Additionally, Microsoft is phasing out Remote PowerShell (RPS) in favor of REST-based Admin APIs for Exchange Server. Furthermore, Exchange Server SE will discontinue support for Outlook Anywhere and co-existence with earlier versions.

“The RTM release of Exchange Server SE will not require any changes to Active Directory when upgrading from Exchange Server 2019. There are no Active Directory schema changes beyond those in Exchange Server 2019, and we will continue to support the Windows Server 2012 R2 forest functional level,” the Exchange team explained.

Exchange Server Subscription Edition Licensing

Microsoft has yet to reveal pricing details for Exchange Server SE. However, the company noted that customers will be able to download Exchange Server SE through the Microsoft 365 admin center. Just like the SharePoint Server Subscription Edition, it would require users to have either subscription licenses or licenses with active Software Assurance for both server and user licenses. Exchange Server SE doesn’t support legacy perpetual server and Client Access Licenses (CALs) used by Exchange 2019 or older versions.

Microsoft plans to release the final cumulative update (CU15) for Exchange Server 2019 customers in the second half of 2024. The upcoming update is expected to bring several new features and improvements, including Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.5 and certificate management in the Exchange admin center (EAC).

It’s highly recommended that IT admins should get in touch with a Microsoft licensing specialist. It should help to understand how the new subscription-based licensing model will impact their organization.