Objectives

To procure and renew a legitimate Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacentre perpetual licence for the municipality’s on-premises server infrastructure. The primary goal is to maintain secure, compliant, and scalable enterprise server operations while supporting virtualisation, modern security architectures, and future expansion capabilities.

Scope

The successful bidder will supply a genuine Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacentre 16-core perpetual licence pack tailored for on-premises deployment. The scope encompasses:

• Delivery of digital entitlement or licence keys through an authorised Microsoft licensing channel.
• Provision of official proof of purchase, licensing documentation, and activation instructions.
• Assistance with licence activation and entitlement verification.
• Clear identification of any additional licensing components not included in the base package, such as Client Access Licences (CALs) or Remote Desktop Services CALs.
• Ensuring compatibility with the municipality’s existing server hardware and intended deployment environment.
• Providing access to manufacturer or licensing support, with any supplementary support services explicitly itemised in the quotation.

Technical Requirements

• Edition & Model: Windows Server 2025 Datacentre, 16-core licence pack, core-based licensing model.
• Licence Type: Perpetual (one-time purchase); quotations must explicitly confirm the licence is not subscription or monthly-based.
• Deployment: On-premises physical server infrastructure.
• Virtualisation: Full support for Hyper-V, Windows Server containers, and Hyper-V isolated containers. Must enable unlimited operating system environments (OSEs) when all physical cores on the server are correctly licensed.
• Enterprise Features: Must support Active Directory Domain Services, DNS, DHCP, file and print services, application/server workloads, modern security architecture, and standard server management, monitoring, and backup integration tools.
• Compliance & Authenticity: Licence must be genuine, legally obtained, and traceable to Microsoft or an authorised channel. Supplier must provide complete entitlement documentation and adhere to Microsoft’s current core-based licensing rules.
• Minimum Licensing Rules: All physical cores on the server must be licensed, subject to Microsoft’s minimum requirement of 16 cores per server.

Skills Requirements

Bidders must demonstrate proven expertise in enterprise software procurement and Microsoft licensing compliance. Technical capability is required to accurately assess server core counts, advise on CAL and supplementary licensing needs, facilitate digital entitlement activation, and provide foundational licensing guidance. Suppliers should possess experience in processing perpetual licence transactions, managing compliance documentation, and liaising directly with authorised Microsoft channels to guarantee authentic product delivery and regulatory adherence.

Explanation of Unusual or Complicated Terms

• Perpetual Licence: A one-time purchase granting indefinite usage rights for the software, contrasting with recurring subscription or rental models that require ongoing payments.
• Core-Based Licensing: Microsoft’s method of licensing servers by physical CPU cores rather than per-user or per-device. It mandates licensing every physical core on the server, with a minimum threshold of 16 cores per server regardless of actual core count.
• Client Access Licences (CALs): Separate licences required for each user or device that connects to or accesses the server. These are distinct from the server licence itself and must be procured additionally unless a specific licensing exception applies.
• Operating System Environments (OSEs): Industry terminology for virtual machines. The Datacentre edition permits unlimited OSEs on a single host, provided the host server is fully licensed according to the core-based model.