Overview of Changes

As it’s been a few weeks from the 1st April, we just wanted to flesh out the changes to licencing that were made to  Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Microsoft Teams SKUs worldwide. The most notable change is the separation of Teams from the Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites This means that Teams will no longer be bundled with these suites and will be available as a standalone product.

Key Changes

  1. New Lineup of SKUs:
    • Microsoft will offer new suites without Teams, named the same as the existing suites plus “(no Teams)”.
    • These new suites will be available for Microsoft 365 E3/E5, Office 365 E1/E3/E5, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Business Standard, Business Basic, Microsoft 365 F1/F3, and Office 365 F3
  2. Standalone Teams SKU:
    • A new standalone Teams SKU for Enterprise customers will be introduced. This allows customers to purchase Teams separately from the Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites
  3. End of Sale for Existing SKUs:
    • The sale of net-new subscriptions to existing Microsoft 365 E3/E5 and Office 365 E1/E3/E5 Enterprise SKUs with Teams will end across all channels.
    • Existing customers who wish to continue using the suites to which they have already subscribed can do so, including renewals, license adds, and step-ups
  4. Billing and Pricing Changes:
    • Microsoft is updating the pricing and billing structure for Microsoft 365, Teams Phone, and Power BI subscriptions effective 1st April 2025. This includes a 5% price increase for monthly billed annual subscriptions
    • New monthly billing options for Microsoft 365 Copilot annual subscriptions will also be introduced

 How Does this Affect You?

For Enterprise suites, the introduction of the new commercial lineup means that the sale of current Enterprise suites that include Teams to net new subscribers will end. Existing customers can continue to use their current subscriptions, but new purchases will need to be made from the new lineup

For customers with Microsoft 365/Office 365 E1, E3, and E5 suites that include Teams (now End-of-Sale), Microsoft is introducing the following options from 1st April 2025

  1. Switch to Annual Upfront Billing:
    • Customers can switch from monthly billing to annual upfront billing at renewal to retain their suites with Teams
  2. Manage Renewals Carefully:
    • After 1st April 2025, new purchases of these legacy suites will no longer be available, and customers must manage renewals carefully to retain existing licenses

These changes aim to streamline decision-making and reduce customer confusion by providing clear options for purchasing Teams separately from other Microsoft 365 and Office 365 products.

Additional Information

For more detailed information, you can refer to the official announcements and updates from Microsoft:

 

If you have ay specific questions or need some guidance please feel free to give us a call on 0118 940 9000.