Announced and Buried: Windows Server 2019 Essentials

With Windows Server 2019, Microsoft will again offer a version of the operating system especially for smaller businesses - Windows Server 2019 Essentials. According to a blog post, this version will have the same license features as its immediate predecessor Server 2016 Essentials. These include the significantly lower price compared to the full version of Windows Server as well as a Client Access License (CAL) for 25 users / 50 devices with a Windows Server 2019 Essentials license. The new version also has the same range of functions as its predecessor, but includes improvements from Windows Server 2019 Standard, including Storage Migration Services and the analysis function of System Insights, as well as better hardware support. In contrast, the server role Essentials Experience no longer exists. A role that has provided the server with targeted functionality, such as simplified file and device management. Microsoft refers to the new Admin Center as a replacement for the management solution.

Windows Server 2019 Essentials will be released along with the other versions of Windows Server 2019 later this year. However, the software company acknowledges in the same article, that there will likely be no future Essentials version successor and recommends smaller companies to migrate to Microsoft 365 Business.

Source: Microsoft