This month Microsoft announced significant changes to their billing and licencing policies that, over the coming months, will affect all Microsoft users. In a nutshell, three changes have happened:
- Microsoft put their prices up
- Microsoft changed the conditions of their licencing periods (monthly & yearly)
- Microsoft has moved from CSP licencing to NCE licences (New Commerce Experience)
Price increases
- M365 Business Basic - 20%
- M365 Business Premium - 10%
- Office 365 E1 - 25%
- Office 365 E3 - 15%
- Office 365 E5 - 8.5%
- M365 E3 - 12.5%
When will the price increases come into effect
Each of your existing Office 365 subscriptions (legacy) has an annual renewal date. It is on this date that your subscription costs will increase (if they are one of the six subscription types listed above).
IT Basecamp will contact you before your renewal date to discuss.
Your existing subscriptions
If your existing Office 365 subscriptions have an annual renewal date which is before 01/07/2022, your current licences will roll over for one more year and enjoy the same terms and conditions that you currently receive.
If your existing Office 365 subscriptions have an annual renewal date from 01/07/2022, your existing licences will go into an expired state. IT Basecamp will purchase new licences for you in the New Commerce Experience (NCE). These NCE licences have terms and conditions that are different to the current legacy subscriptions.
IT Basecamp will contact you before your renewal date to discuss the options and how you would like to proceed.
New terms and conditions for new subscriptions
Microsoft have increased subscription prices for all NCE products except Business Standard which if purchased for a yearly commitment will remain at $17.20
If you wish to purchase a new subscription - so one that you've not had before, this will be obtained through the NCE option and will be subject to the new T&Cs.
Payment options for the NCE licences
There are three types of licence terms offered for each NCE product:
- Monthly commitment
- Yearly commitment (pay upfront)
- Yearly commitment (pay monthly)
When the month-to-month payments option is chosen price variations may apply each month, dependent on current MS pricing guidelines. However, if you select this option you will have the flexibility to decrease and cancel licences at the end of your monthly subscription (end of each month). You will be charged a 20% premium for this flexibility.
Clients choosing a yearly commitment have price protection for the 12 months and will not incur the 20% premium. However you will not be able to decrease or cancel any licences in the 12-month term, but you can add more licences and, in some circumstances, you can upgrade your licences.
Please see some FAQs below. If you need further assistance understanding this please reach out to our tech or accounts team.
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FAQ
Do I have to pay for a whole year upfront - if I choose the yearly option and avoid the 20% premium?
You can pay upfront and save money. Ask our team what these discounts are. Alternatively, you can commit to a year and pay monthly in advance.
There are T&Cs that apply to this option to ensure that it is understood that whilst the payments are made monthly, the client is committed to payment of the full annual amount even if the subscriptions are no longer required at some point during that 12 months.
When purchasing new subscriptions, there is a 7 day period where licences can be modified. However you will be charged a daily rate after the first 24 hours, up to 7 days if you choose to make changes in that time. Otherwise, the licences are set for the month or next 12 months - depending on which terms you selected. You can have a mixture of monthly and annual licences.
If you have one of the products listed above then yes these prices went up on March 01 2022. A lot of our customers have Office 365 Business Standard which is fortunately at this time one of the only products that has not increased
This is standard across many subscription providers including Adobe and Google as well. Annual subscriptions give companies like Microsoft planning ability and consistency for growth.
This is the first large price rise for Office 365 since its inception. Office365 / M365 contains 24 products in the standard feature set. Products such as Teams, Power Automate, Stream and Virtual Agent are all new in recent years and have revolutionised a mobile workforce.
This depends on your current 12-month renewal date for each subscription.
IT Basecamp will contact you ahead of this date and discuss your options going forward.
ITBasecamp acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of the country in this area and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. The South Coast of New South Wales where we live is Yuin country but indigenous people here come from a number of different groups including Brinja-Yuin, Budawang, Jerrinja, Murramarang, Walbunja, Wandandian and Wodi Wodi. We recognise their continuing connection and contribution to this land.