how much does a microsoft 365 subscription cost

Companies must renew subscriptions through NCE by the end of June.

Pricing plans will begin in January, according to Microsoft. Hinchcliffe said the plan lets Microsoft forecast its revenue for the year based on the annual subscribers by decreasing churn. NCE was developed to reduce licensing complexity and costs, Microsoft partner and managing service provider Pax8 wrote in a blog post communicating the pricing changes to its customers. The licensing will also include Dynamics 365, Windows 365 and other Microsoft business services. The pricing changes are part of the New Commerce Experience (NCE) model for Azure, which Microsoft launched in 2019. 'This move will certainly hurt small businesses the most, who often go month-to-month with Office subscriptions to manage cash flow,' said Dion Hinchcliffe, an analyst at Constellation Research. It explained that monthly subscriptions were an invaluable tool to help with cost reduction during the COVID pandemic and other economic events. The petition has garnered more than 1,400 votes. Some customers started a petition on to urge Microsoft to revoke the changes.

'With the 20% step up from the annual to monthly price, we and our clients are going to have to put a lot more time and effort into maintaining license pools economically.' 'Flexibility is huge for our clients,' said Charles Black, president of Chicago-based IT services firm Oscillas Technologies. One Reddit member wrote that the increase will be, 'a huge hassle for those of us that build our stack around month to month.' Another wrote, 'I think Microsoft is not hearing from the smaller-business side.' Customers complained that they would not have the flexibility to cancel licenses if workers leave. The changes will protect Microsoft's more than 400,000 partners from financial losses incurred when customers not on annual plans leave, and will help forecast revenue for the year, Microsoft explained in a blog post earlier this year.īut customers, especially those at small and medium-sized businesses, took to Reddit and Twitter to voice their opposition to the new pricing model.

How much does a microsoft 365 subscription cost