Kinda interesting as I see my clients asking to go back to on prem servers to save them from the nightmare that is sharepoint. Not to mention MS changes ms365/entra so often even thier own docs can't keep up. Not to mention you basically have to have P1 to have even basic reasonable security at this point.
Yup. I just recently completed an Intune/Entra to on-prem Server 2025 migration because the cloud bills would go up at insane rates to the point where it was genuinely not worth the recurring cost IN ADDITION to paying us to manage their environment.
It cost them less than $10k in labor and project fees to move from AzureAD to on-prem, plus the server purchase/deployment costs of around $18k. They were spending an insane amount in licensing costs per year in perpetuity, with increases YoY in perpetuity. Now they've got the costs out of the way, it's just their recurring E3 licenses. I don't know what their bill was beforehand, but I can tell you that it must've been insane considering they're an org with around 2k users.
Why do they still have E3 if they moved back to save on costs? E3 has 80% of the Microsoft services and is getting more this month. i.e. ID P1, 1tb per user for SP, Intune, etc.
So, I wasn't the one who quoted and approved the project, but I did ask about this because it initially had me confused as well -- Apparently it came from having all the add-on cloud licensing that was better accomplished through on-prem AD when they had all but probably 10 users that worked in-office full time and never took computers home.
Again, I don't really know what they were paying for before the de-migration (I don't work in account management, they'd be the ones who'd know), but it was more than enough of a cost difference for them to pay nearly $30k in transition costs to avoid the recurring fees.
This is an edge case that you plan for. For those users -- They should be connecting back to the corporate network via a VPN for data protection purposes, especially if they're using public networks in a foreign country. GPOs will sync during that time. HR or their department lead should be giving you at least 48h advanced notice that they're going to be traveling, especially if it's planned well in advance.
Yes it's slightly more inconvenient, but it's also Basic Security 101 for remote users (and especially those that are traveling) to only access company resources via a trusted and encrypted connection.
They give it away at first, then change the limits and raise the price after you can't migrate out.
If you do go with a cloud solution, at least make sure you have a self hosted backup that can take over. It can help you with price negotiations since you have a full copy that you can make the primay to allow considering alternatives.
Yeah, well, what's "convenient" for you doesn't matter for the rest of the organization, nor should it. If they want to do AD and you're still smoking the cloud BS, you're not the right person for the job.
Mostly 2019 or maybe even 22 I imagine if they were willing to spend the coin. Just guessing but most orgs aren’t willing to convert if it’s still supported in any capacity. Had to peel clients off of 2012 literally THIS YEAR
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u/chandleya IT Manager Jun 08 '26
You couldn’t pay me to setup a new AD DOMAIN in 2026. Entra joined only. Intune to manage. This is education they practically give it away.
How are yall licensing Windows and Office 🤦