Over the years since its establishment Windows Server, the platform has continuously advanced from a development and innovation standpoint to improve performance and provide better services to organizations and businesses. Now, as 2025 approaches, the platform Windows Server It is once again changing and evolving, and is expected to bring a host of new features and improvements to the market with the release of the new version.

In this article, we'll explore our predictions and expectations for Windows Server 2025. Given the increasing complexity and needs of organizations in the IT field, we'll provide a critical analysis of what we might see in this new version. We'll also explore the impact of these changes on different organizations and business environments.

We aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the future of Windows Server, which we hope will be valuable in your decisions about deploying and using this platform. So join us as we delve into the details of Windows Server 2025.

Changes to Windows Server Licensing

In Windows Server 2025, Microsoft has seriously improved its licensing models, aiming to provide more and more flexible options for users and organizations. Below I will highlight the main changes in the Windows Server 2025 licensing models:

Perpetual Licensing Model

Microsoft plans to retain the perpetual licensing model for Windows Server 2025. This model allows users to pay a one-time license fee and use the software for an extended period of time. Support for this type of license includes five years of mainstream support and five years of long-term support, which is critical for security and software updates.

Subscription Licensing Model

For those who need more flexibility, Microsoft has also introduced a subscription licensing model. Instead of paying a large out-of-pocket cost, users can pay monthly or annual fees and receive ongoing software updates. This approach allows organizations to achieve greater efficiency in managing their software while using better financial resources.

Azure Hybrid Benefit is a new program that allows users to take advantage of the benefits of migrating to Azure and also reduce the costs associated with Windows Server 2025 licenses. With this program, users can optimize licenses they have purchased on a subscription basis and benefit from greater flexibility in managing and utilizing their resources by using the Azure cloud infrastructure.

For those who need to manage multiple platforms and workloads, Azure Arc is a cloud-based management tool that allows users to centrally manage their servers and workloads in an Azure environment and easily manage costs for these services through Azure cloud computing.

Hotpatch comes to all versions of Windows Server 2025

Hotpatching is a critical and highly anticipated feature for Windows Server 2025 that helps improve the productivity and performance of the operating system. This feature allows organizations to apply security updates and key changes without having to reboot the operating system.

Hotpatching allows updates to be applied without the need to stop or restart the system. This means that critical services and applications are updated without interrupting or bringing the system down. This feature is critical for organizations that need to maintain the stability and timing of system updates without affecting the performance of services and applications.

For example, if an organization needs to apply an urgent security update, hotpatching allows them to apply the update while the system is running without causing users and customers to experience downtime or issues that might be caused by a reboot.

Currently, hotpatching is enabled in Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition, but Microsoft plans to add the feature to both the Standard and Datacenter editions of Windows Server 2025.

In short, the hotpatching feature will be added to Windows Server 2025 and will help organizations improve the performance of their systems as well as improve the overall security and stability of their systems without the need to stop services.

Improving storage space in Windows Server 2025

In Windows Server 2025, Microsoft delivers significant improvements to storage that allow organizations and users to take advantage of more advanced technologies.

One of the main improvements is full support for NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express), which allows users to benefit from high speed and significant improvements in input-output performance (IOPS), especially on servers that use NVMe for storage. In addition, Windows Server 2025 also provides support for NVMe over Fabrics, which helps improve the performance of storage networks.

Another improvement introduced is support for SMB (Server Message Block) over QUIC, which uses TLS 1.3 to encrypt traffic and improves the security and speed of file communications. Native deletion for Resilient File System (ReFS) storage is also supported in Windows Server 2025, allowing organizations to use a stable and reliable file system to manage their sensitive data.

Overall, these improvements allow users and organizations to leverage more advanced technologies to improve the performance, security, and resilience of their systems, which is critical for improving organizational productivity and safety.

Support for Microsoft 365 apps

Microsoft has provided some important information regarding support for Microsoft 365 Apps in Windows Server 2025. In the past, Microsoft had stated that support for Microsoft 365 Apps would be limited to October 2026, which coincides with the end of mainstream support for Windows Server 2022. However, Microsoft has revised this policy and confirmed that support for Microsoft 365 Apps will continue until the end of the original five-year term of Windows Server 2025.

This decision shows that Microsoft is giving users and organizations the opportunity to slowly upgrade to the newer version of Windows Server 2025 and use Microsoft 365 apps on the platform without worrying about disappointing support from Microsoft.

This change reflects Microsoft's commitment to supporting its products and services for a longer period of time that is reasonable and convenient for users and organizations, so that they can best benefit from new and up-to-date Microsoft technologies.

Security improvements

Security improvements in Windows Server 2025 are among the most critical measures that help strengthen the security of systems and the communications between them. These improvements are as follows:

Using more powerful algorithms: Windows Server 2025 uses stronger algorithms to encrypt information. For example, the RC4 algorithm, which had security weaknesses, has been removed and replaced with more advanced methods. These changes increase the security of network communications and better protect sensitive information.

TLS 1.3 support: Windows Server 2025 supports TLS 1.3 for LDAP communications. TLS 1.3 is a new security standard that uses a much stronger security protocol than previous versions. This improvement improves security in LDAP communications and reduces the risks associated with malicious attacks such as MITM (Man-in-the-Middle).

These changes provide significant improvements to communication security and information protection in Windows Server 2025. These measures are critical for organizations and IT administrators, as they allow them to more confidently use the security of their systems and data and provide greater resilience against modern security threats.

Active Directory improvements

Overall, the improvements expected in Active Directory (AD) components in Windows Server 2025 play a significant role in expanding and enhancing the platform's performance, security, and resiliency. As technologies advance and organizations meet new needs, Microsoft is focused on several improvements that can positively impact the user experience, security, and management of AD.

One of the key areas of improvement is security. Given the growing security threats, Windows Server 2025 may provide additional measures to strengthen identity and data protection, improve monitoring, and respond to attacks. This includes improving authentication systems, moving to new security standards such as TLS 1.3, and strengthening protection capabilities against internal and external threats.

Also of note are improvements in AD administration and management. Windows Server 2025 can provide better tools for managing AD domains and nodes, which will help simplify configuration, maintenance, and migration from older versions. This also includes gaining better integration with cloud services, which will allow organizations to easily take advantage of cloud services while still leveraging AD capabilities.

Another important improvement is the flexibility and ease of integration with modern security solutions. As SIEM and SOAR become more widely used in organizations, AD should offer improvements that enable greater and better interoperability with these solutions. Also, the increased ability to adapt to different network and software environments will help users customize AD based on their needs and implement the necessary improvements.

With these explanations, it is clear that Microsoft is committed to continuously improving AD in Windows Server 2025 so that this platform remains the foundational and effective platform for identity and access management in organizations and keeps pace with today's technology challenges and offerings.

Do we need to upgrade to Windows Server 2025?

Upgrading to Windows Server 2025 can be the best strategic decision that can help improve the performance and security of your systems, depending on your company's specific needs and circumstances. This new version of Windows Server offers you significant features and improvements that can have significant benefits for your company.

Upgrading to Windows Server 2025 has the following benefits that could influence your decision:

Improved security: Windows Server 2025 provides significant security improvements, including the use of TLS 1.3 and stronger cryptographic algorithms, to improve protection and response to security threats. This helps you protect your data and communications from malicious attacks.

Increase performance and productivityWith new features like SMB over QUIC and Hot Patching, Windows Server 2025 allows you to improve the performance and productivity of your systems and quickly respond to required updates.

High flexibilityWindows Server 2025 provides features for better integration with cloud environments and management of various infrastructures, which allows you to apply the best settings for your company's specific needs.

Better support for technological developmentsBy upgrading to Windows Server 2025, you receive continuous and timely updates that help you keep up with technological developments and take advantage of the latest advancements.

Therefore, the decision to upgrade to Windows Server 2025 should be based on your business needs, interests, and goals. If you are looking for improved security, better performance, and optimal use of technology, upgrading to this new version could be a good option that will help you stay at the forefront of server technology and compete with your competitors.