MicroStrategy licensing is the set of terms under which MicroStrategy Incorporated, which now brands its software and company as Strategy, sells its business intelligence and semantic layer platform, called Strategy ONE, together with Strategy Mosaic, Strategy AI and the Strategy Cloud services. Two names are in use. Current documents, the website and the service guides say “Strategy”: the Managed Cloud Enterprise guide states that “All Contents Copyright © 2026 Strategy Inc.” and lists trademarks including Strategy ONE, Strategy Mosaic and Strategy Cloud.[8] The contract still names the legal entities in the older form: for the United States and Canada the contracting entity is MicroStrategy Services Corporation, a Delaware corporation with offices in Tysons Corner, Virginia, and notices go to MicroStrategy Incorporated.[1] Older product names also remain in the documentation, for example MicroStrategy Developer and MicroStrategy Web.[10] A software asset manager should therefore expect both MicroStrategy and Strategy in installed software, invoices and contracts.
The central contract is the Master Service Agreement (MSA, English version dated July 2025), which applies to any order form between the customer and the Strategy contracting party. The order form takes precedence over the MSA for the Products it covers, and a customer’s purchase order terms are null and void.[1] The latest version of the agreement incorporated into an order form governs all of the customer’s other order forms.[1] The contract set is detailed in MicroStrategy Master Service Agreement and support terms.
Editions
MicroStrategy does not use edition names the way many vendors do. It sells licence types and bundles.
| Layer | What it is | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Client licences | Client - Reporter, Client - Web, Client - Architect, plus Mobile, Hyper, Application and gateway licences | Reporter is a runtime consumer licence; Architect covers Workstation, Developer, Architect, Integrity Manager and Object Manager[2] |
| Server licences | Server - Intelligence, Server - Reporter, add-ons Analytics, Distribution, Collaboration, Geospatial and Transaction | The add-ons are available on top of Server - Intelligence[2] |
| Current cloud bundles | AI Consumer User, AI Power User, AI Architect User, Cloud Reporter User, Mosaic Consumer User | Described as the most comprehensive, modern product package offerings[2] |
| Legacy bundles | Cloud Consumer, Cloud Power, Cloud Architect, Consumer User, Power User | The Power User bundle contains Client - Web, Server - Intelligence, Server - Analytics and Server - Distribution[2] |
| Platform SKUs | Enterprise Platform for Windows and for Linux; Cloud Platform for AWS, Azure and GCP | Enterprise Platform is downloaded and installed in the customer’s own data centre or any other cloud[2] |
| Plans | Strategy Standard, Enterprise and Government | Standard is for teams from 50 to 300 users, with pricing as low as USD 13 per user per month[6] |
The licence types are explained in MicroStrategy Named User and CPU licences. The documentation uses the user-type words Architect, Reporter and Analyst in different places: Architect and Reporter are licence types, while Analyst appears in the Client - Web description (for “Analysts and Architects”) and in the Analyst Education Pass.[2]
Metrics
The MSA recognises two counting bases: Named Users and CPUs. The order form “may provide for specific quantities of licenses for applicable Named Users of the Software or, in the case of On-Prem Software, specific quantities of CPU licenses”.[1] The system administration help restates this: “Strategy uses two main categories of licenses”, Named User licences and CPU licences.[3]
- Named User. An identifiable individual with unique login credentials; individuals non-concurrently sharing a generic login, who count collectively as one; or an individual without credentials who receives Reports directly from the Products.[1]
- CPU. A physical core in a physical environment or a virtual core in a virtual environment to which an instance of the Software is assigned, as identified by the operating system.[1]
- Strategy AI Question. A consumption unit of 20,000 Questions per Strategy AI SKU quantity per Use Period in the managed cloud services.[8]
- Standard User and Standard Architect. The unit of Managed Cloud Standard.[9]
Counting / floors
Environment floors. When Named User quantities are specified, only that quantity may use the Software “in one production environment and up to two non-production environments”. When CPU quantities are specified, the Software may be installed and run only on that quantity of CPUs in one production environment and up to two non-production environments, supporting an unspecified quantity of Named Users.[1] Catalog proof: Named User quantities cover one production and up to two non-production environments.
Privilege-based counting. For Named User licences, privileges given to users and groups determine which licences they consume. Intelligence Server compares the number of users with each privilege to the licences available.[4] Every user must hold a base server licence, Server - Reporter or Server - Intelligence, and Client - Reporter is a subset of Client - Web in a hierarchy of inherited privilege sets.[4]
Excess use. If the customer exceeds the scope of its rights, Strategy may invoice the excess and related support fees “calculated at our standard list prices from the date you exceeded the scope of your rights”, and if the Product is no longer sold the higher of the last list price or the successor’s current list price applies.[1] Strategy may audit books and records no more than once per 12-month period where an audit is the only way to verify payment obligations.[1] The audit tooling and compliance consequences are in MicroStrategy License Manager, audits and compliance.
Support floors. Technical Support cannot be renewed for a subset of licensed Products: the customer renews for all licensed Products or lets all lapse.[7]
Virtualization & partitioning
The CPU definition is the virtualization rule. In a virtual computing environment a CPU is a virtual core to which an instance of the Software is assigned, “as identified by the operating system in which the Software is installed”, so a customer counts what the guest operating system reports for the instance.[1] CPU affinity allows Intelligence Server or Strategy Web to be deployed on a selected subset of the physical CPUs of a machine, and the number of processors to be used must be provided at installation.[5][10] The documents retrieved contain no separate rule on hypervisor clusters or live migration. For general treatment see virtualization and partitioning.
Cloud / BYOL
The MSA allows on-premises Software to be installed and executed “on servers and workstations operated by you or by third-party cloud service providers operating servers and workstations on your behalf” in the applicable Territory.[1] If the order form specifies an operating or cloud environment, the Software may be used only there.[1] Strategy also sells managed services (Managed Cloud Enterprise, Managed Cloud Standard, Managed Cloud for Government) and Customer Managed Cloud, in which the customer deploys and manages the platform in its own cloud infrastructure.[9] On the pricing page, existing cloud provider credits count toward Strategy Enterprise only when it is deployed in the customer’s own cloud account, not for Strategy Standard.[6] The cloud offerings are covered in MicroStrategy cloud services and Strategy AI.
Programs
- Standard Support and Extended Lifecycle Support. From January 1, 2027 Strategy “will no longer provide full technical support, feature updates, bug fixes, enhancements nor security patches for on-premises software”. Customers may buy Extended Lifecycle Support (a “Tech Support Extension” SKU) for up to 24 months beginning on or after January 1, 2027 and ending on or before December 31, 2028.[7]
- Strategy Standard free trial. A free 30-day trial of Strategy Standard, which includes Mosaic Studio.[6]
- OEM program. OEM partners embed Products under separate OEM Terms with quarterly sales reports and an audit and certification right.[1]
- Evaluation Products. Preview and beta features for internal testing only.[1]
Out of scope
This article does not cover negotiated discounts, the Education and Consulting Services in detail, or the technical features of Strategy ONE. It does not cover third-party software that Strategy products connect to, such as Tableau, Power BI or database engines, whose licences are separate.