Change is coming to Microsoft, but there’s still time to act

Nick Hayne at Quiss explains how your business could mitigate the cost impact of changes to Microsoft policy.

If you are not aware, there are several changes coming to the way that Microsoft bills your licenses with the introduction of the ‘New Commerce Experience’ (NCE), which imposes new terms of service on subscriptions for Microsoft 365, Office 365 and Dynamics subscriptions.

NCE is billed as the new platform for Microsoft Cloud Subscriptions, and is designed to simplify the way customers buy their Microsoft products, while choosing options based on their business needs. The changes are being sold as a benefit to drive client retention for the resellers of Microsoft products and services.

Microsoft is using NCE to switch users from monthly billing onto one-year or three-year subscriptions. The incentive is more stick than carrot though, as there will be a 20% price hike for those who choose to remain on their current monthly subscriptions.

The changes will be introduced through cloud service providers (CSP) like Quiss that organisations engage with to manage their IT services and licences. The changes, such as revenue predictability, operational efficiency and more choice are all benefits for the CSP but add little by way of benefit to the end-user, other than increased cost and a need for long term commitments.

Given the fluctuations in staffing driven by the pandemic, the fact a business will not be able to stop and start Office 365 subscriptions as easily as they can now might be seen by some as something of detriment. But not Microsoft, which will get paid at least an annual licence fee, regardless of how long the businesses needs it.

Worryingly for those who favour a competitive CSP market, the future could be bleak. Any customer that ceases trading leaves the CSP responsible for the outstanding licence fee, which could be as high as £400 per licence, for a 36-month subscription. And a CSP in financial difficulties spells trouble for their customers.

However, if you renew your license before March 1 2022, with the help of your CSP, you can keep the existing pricing and flexibility of your subscriptions. On the bright side, Microsoft is introducing a new audio-conferencing feature, allowing users the ability to join and set up Teams meetings by phone number. If this is all news to you and you would like to explore the different options available – Quiss can run different scenarios to support decisions.