Microsoft shifting to cloud management software brings possibility of it peeking into your estate

Microsoft recently announced it will deprecate System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) Management Packs (MPs) for SQL Server Reporting Services, Power BI Report Server,and SQL Server Analysis Services.

While this affects a relatively small subset of SQL Server users, the move could force some organizations into monitoring solutions that expose their server deployments to Microsoft's licensing auditors, one analyst pointed out.

The affected SCOM management packs will remain available until January 2027, after which they'll no longer be supported. "No new updates will be released, including no support for SQL Server 2025 or SCOM 2025," the notice said.

Microsoft said the products would no longer have official SCOM MPs for these products.

SCOM is a popular management tool for Microsoft on-premises server product, supporting not just SQL Server, but also Exchange, Windows and SharePoint to manage updates, security changes, and patches.

Microsoft said the deprecation means existing management ...