Understanding the impact of Microsoft’s Licensing Changes

After nearly a decade of continuous innovation and consistent pricing, Microsoft has announced that they would be restructuring their cloud subscription-based licensing. These changes largely revolve around contract terms and price adjustments. This move has been branded by Microsoft as the New Commerce Experience (NCE) and provides flexible pricing based on terms, allowing you to simplify your adoption journey.

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Navigating Microsoft’s Licensing Changes – what you need to know.

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Under the new pricing model, Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft 365 plans will see a price increase for the first time in over a decade.

Changes to the pricing are as follows:

Additionally, Microsoft’s commitment terms will be updated. Annual agreements will now be enforced by Microsoft, with early termination fees for ending a commitment early. However, upgrades from one license type to another do not incur a penalty. (i.e., going from M365 E3 to M365 E5 will not incur a penalty).

The new contract terms are as follows:

It is worth noting that you will have the ability to ‘mix and match’ subscriptions, which is a useful option for organizations where staffing levels can fluctuate. For the most cost savings, it is recommended that you commit to a 3-Year or Annual term, however this can be done for core staff, while season staff, or staff on short term contracts can be put on a monthly term. In addition to the changes in monthly terms, changes to subscriptions must be completed within 72 hours (about 3 days) of purchase. This has changed from the previous 30-day refund period.

Renewing your current contract or moving to the “New Commerce Experience” is the best way to lock in a good up-front price before the increases occur. To streamline your transition, FSi Strategies has implemented a new CSP Portal for our clients. The FSi Portal allows clients to track contracts, renewal terms, check invoices, and add additional licensing or subscriptions via self-service. This is all integrated with Microsoft 365 allowing for Single Sign-on to your portal*.

FSi Strategies can help you navigate through the licensing changes, renewals, and migrating to the new licensing model.

Contact us today!

*Some conditions apply.
Multi-factor authentication is a requirement to access the self-service CSP portal, clients without this will not be able to login and manage their licenses.