Breaking Down the Latest Microsoft Licensing Updates

CloudServus aims to ensure that you stay informed about the dynamic landscape of Microsoft products and licensing. Our objective is to keep you up-to-date with any changes that could impact your organization. In this blog post, we will delve into Microsoft's latest significant announcements regarding licensing and product releases.

Here are the recent noteworthy updates in Microsoft licensing:

Teams Rooms Licensing Policy Enforcement! Starting July 1st, 2023, customers will no longer be able to apply user subscription licenses to sign in to their Microsoft Teams Rooms devices, including Surface Hub and Teams Panels. Teams Rooms licensing changed in September 2022 with the introduction of Teams Rooms Basic and Teams Rooms Pro licenses. At that time, customers were advised that starting July 2023, Teams Rooms devices must be licensed with device licenses, rather than user licenses. You can find a reminder article here and a comparison chart of the new Teams Rooms plans here.

Intune Plan 2 and Intune Suite Now Available! The original Intune has been renamed to Intune Plan 1, and there is now the option of adding on Intune Plan 2 or Intune Suite. If you only need some of the cool new features, Microsoft offers a few of them as stand-alone add-ons. The new Intune Suite unifies mission-critical advanced endpoint management and security solutions into one simple bundle. Pricewise, MSRP for Intune Plan 1 remains the same at $8 per user per month, while the Plan 2 add-on and the Intune Suite add-on have an MSRP of $4 and $10, respectively. Find the announcement article with information on features here.

NEW Azure Savings Dashboard! There is a Power BI dashboard available for customers who want to see the savings they have made in Azure by purchasing Reservations or Savings Plans. Customers can view their savings by uploading the Amortized files into this Power BI file, and they can filter the Savings by various categories such as resource location, subscription name, and tags, which can be helpful if you need to view savings based on specific criteria. Find out more and download the Power BI file with setup instructions here.

App Governance Now Included in Defender for Cloud Apps! Microsoft announced that on June 1st, 2023, the App Governance Add-on will be included in Microsoft 365 E5, E5 Security, or any other license that includes Defender for Cloud Apps. App Governance is a security and policy management capability designed for OAuth-enabled apps registered in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), Google Workspace, and Salesforce. It delivers full visibility, remediation, and governance into how these apps and their users access, use, and share sensitive data stored in Microsoft 365 through actionable insights and automated policy alerts. Find the announcement article here.

Windows 365 Frontline Now in Public Preview! Microsoft announced that Windows 365 Frontline is now in public preview. Windows 365 Enterprise and Business became available in August 2021, and now Windows 365 Frontline joins this family of cloud PCs. Like the rest of the family, Windows 365 Frontline delivers a personalized Cloud PC (consisting of Windows, apps, data, and settings) to users, but is aimed at shift workers in an organization. Every license purchased allows a business to create 3 Cloud PCs which, in effect, cover 3 employees in 8-hour shifts over a 24-hour period. Note that the number of people using a Windows 365 Frontline Cloud PC at any one time can be no greater than the number of licenses purchased. Find the announcement here, a good overview video here, and join the public preview here.

CloudServus, a recognized Microsoft Solutions Partner, provides expert support through a comprehensive Microsoft Licensing Assessment to help organizations derive the most value from their Microsoft licensing across the lifecycle.

Our consultants utilize their in-depth knowledge of Microsoft licensing to ensure that your Microsoft licenses align with your business needs and objectives. We analyze your programs, SKUs, and pricing to identify opportunities for improvement. On average, we have been able to save new customers up to 17% through our efforts in providing license optimization and more competitive pricing.

Contact CloudServus to review your current licensing and discuss your goals with your Microsoft partnership. We can walk you through your options.