I didn’t want to miss this – on March 1, Microsoft was slated to increase prices for most commercial Office 365 and Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Under the banner of “New Commerce Experience,” these were positioned as the first increases in more than a decade.
However, on Feb 28, Microsoft gave a two-week reprieve. Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) and other partners working through them now have until midnight UTC on March 15 (or 5 p.m. PDT on March 14) to get their transactions posted at the current, pre-increase amounts. Microsoft officials cited “current high demand” leading up to the March 1 pricing changes as the reason for the delay. That means price lists are updated on April 1st.
A reprieve? Not really. I’d guess this is due to the pushback from providers, although the end result is the same place just a month later.
I maintain that this isn’t where the action is – while I acknowledge the potential risks of holding onto a contract for a customer who might drop, this isn’t where the money is. Don’t dwell here, and instead focus on the services level around it where the actual money is. If need be, just hand the risk to your distributor.