Microsoft has withdrawn the free ESU deal on Azure for SQL Server 2016, turning deferral into a priced, back-billed decision for South African estates.

Microsoft is at capacity with some of its Azure resources in the East US2 region, users are reporting, and Microsoft acknowledges it is placing restrictions on additional quota on some customers there ...

For three end-of-support cycles, Microsoft made waiting free. This time it did not – and that, not the deadline, is the story ...