Amazon WorkSpaces introduces bring your own license automation for Windows desktops
It’s now faster and easier to bring your Windows 7 and Windows 10 desktop operating systems to Amazon WorkSpaces and save money with bring your own license (BYOL) automation. With this release, you can bring your existing Windows desktop licenses to WorkSpaces with a simple few clicks and move hundreds or even thousands of Windows desktops to WorkSpaces faster. This helps you recognize significant cost savings because you get a discount of $4 per WorkSpace per month (a savings of up to 16%) when you bring your existing Windows licenses to WorkSpaces.
It’s an easy three step process to bring your existing Windows Desktop OS to WorkSpaces once your account is enabled for BYOL. First import your existing Windows 7 or Windows 10 images using the VM Import API. Then in the WorkSpaces Admin console use the Create BYOL Image action on the Images page to build your custom WorkSpaces image with the image you just imported. Finally, use the Images tab in the WorkSpaces Admin console to create a custom WorkSpaces bundle based on your WorkSpaces image.
The Windows BYOL option for WorkSpaces is available in all AWS Regions where WorkSpaces is available. To take advantage of this option, your organization needs to meet the licensing requirements set by Microsoft, and commit to running at least 200 WorkSpaces in a given AWS region each month. To get started with Windows BYOL for your WorkSpaces, you should contact us to enable BYOL for your account. To learn more about this option, visit the WorkSpaces FAQ page.