Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises is licensed through one of two licensing models: Perpetual Licensing and Subscription Licensing. With Perpetual Licensing, you license the software with permanent usage rights. So, you can use the licensed version of the software for as long as you choose. Perpetual Licensing might be for you if you prefer an upfront investment or if you want to manage the solution internally, and will run the software on your premises (or, subject to license mobility rights, have it hosted by a third party Infrastructure as a Service [IaaS] provider acting as your agent). With Subscription Licensing, you license non-perpetual rights to use the software, meaning you can use the software only during the term of the agreement secured by periodic payments. This model lowers your initial licensing costs and provides you with the flexibility to increase or decrease subscription license counts from one subscription term to the next. You can use Subscription Licensing when you want to have the ERP solution hosted and managed as Software as a Service (SaaS) by your partner or any third party. Alternatively, the software may be deployed on your premises, provided that your Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises partner provides day-to-day management services and maintains sole control over the solution. There are significant licensing differences between Perpetual Licensing and Subscription Licensing, as illustrated below.