I hope you've been able to have a bit of a break during August? Even though actually going places is still more difficult than it used to be, getting away from work and recharging is important...even when it's as exciting as Microsoft licensing 😂
Of course, the big news this month has been the Microsoft 365 price increases - lots of talk about that on LinkedIn (and below)! Vendors increasing their prices, especially for SaaS, is always something to look out for but (spoiler alert) I don't have too many issues with this one. If you've got any questions/thoughts about it, I'd love to hear them - feel free to email me or message me on LinkedIn.
In other news, Windows Server 2022 is now available in the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) so expect to see that appearing with your datacentres soon!
One last thing - Sancho, Varane, and now Ronaldo?! 😎👏😍
Cheers
Rich
ps: Remember you can check out previous newsletters here if you want to catch up on anything you may have missed.
Microsoft 365 price increases
Windows Microsoft have announced the first substantial price increases for Office/Microsoft 365 which look like this (per user per month):
Office 365 E1 = $8 to $10
Office 365 E3 = $20 to $23
Office 365 E5 = $35 to $38
Microsoft 365 E3 = $32 to $36
No increases for Microsoft 365 E5 or F SKUs, as Microsoft see those as the way forward for many orgs.
I've talked about this a fair bit on LinkedIn but I don't think this rise is too problematic. Sure, everyone would always prefer not to pay more, and a 25% increase on E1 will definitely make a difference to a bill...but with so many apps and features added over the last decade, I don't think it's unreasonable. If price increases become a regular thing then that's a different story but if an increase every 10 years (or so) keeps Microsoft innovating like they have been - I'm ok with that. I go into this in more detail in my article here.
Windows 365 Pricing
Confirmation Pricing for Windows 365 is now available and it ranges from $20 to $162, depending on how impressive you need your cloud PC to be. The entry level gets you a machine with 1 vCPU/2GB RAM/64 GB storage while the top of the line cloud PC offers 8 vCPU/32GB RAM/512GB storage. If you go for Windows 365 Enterprise, that price is on top of costs for the license pre-requisites (see below) which can make this a pretty costly endeavour it seems.
More info on pricing and a look at Windows Hybrid Benefit here.
Microsoft Product Terms - August 2021
August's Product Terms include confirmation of the licensing requirements for Windows 365 Enterprise (Windows 10 Enterprise, Intune, and Azure AD P1) and the lack of pre-requisites for Windows 365 Business...although Windows Hybrid Benefit pricing requires a Windows 10 Pro device. It also added Azure Arc SQL and Hybrid Right details.
Microsoft's "New Commerce Experience" (NCE) has been announced and brings changes to the CSP program. 3-year terms will be available for Microsoft 365 - enabling longer price protection and helping smooth the transition from EA Level A to CSP that Microsoft want many orgs to make next year.
It also seems that the flexibility that has been a cornerstone of CSP - the ability to change license quantities and even cancel without penalty - will carry a price premium going forward. This will effectively constitute a price increase for organisations who wish to continue with such flexible purchasing.
There are also a range of back-end improvements that aim to make aspects of the customer/partner relationship easier for partners. More info here.
Telephony addition to Microsoft 365
Alongside the price increase, Microsoft have also announced that they will add unlimited dial-in minutes to a range of SKUs. Currently bundled with Office 365 E5 & Microsoft 365 E5, from March 2022 they will also be included with:
Office 365 E1/E3
Microsoft 365 E3/F1/F3
Microsoft 365 Business Basic/Standard/Premium
which will continue the expansion of Teams as a full telephony platform.
