,
Over the last ten years, Microsoft has continued to add new apps (Teams, Planner, Power Platform, Steam, Whiteboard, Shifts, Forms, etc.) and over 1,400 new features and capabilities into the bundles while keeping the pricing the same. Even with additional value continuously being added, no substantive pricing updates occurred. For the first time in 10 years, Microsoft has announced pricing changes, which will go into effect in six months. On March 1, 2022, Microsoft will update its pricing for the following commercial products:
These increases will apply globally with local market adjustments for certain regions. There are no changes to pricing for education and consumer products at this time.
This change builds on the product innovation Microsoft has delivered over the past ten years to meet the changing needs of customers. Since its launch a decade ago, Office 365 has grown to over 300 million commercial paid seats. Along the way, Microsoft has continuously re-invested to meet the changing needs of our customers. Four years ago, Microsoft 365 was introduced to bring together the best of Office, Windows, and Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS). Since its initial release, Microsoft has also added:
Microsoft has also announced they will add a new $0 unlimited dial-in capabilities for Microsoft Teams meetings across enterprise, business, frontline, and government suites over the next few months. Even as Cloud connectivity increases, people join Teams meetings while they are on the go or struggling with a bad internet connection. Currently included with Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5, Microsoft has come to see dial-in as an important part of the complete Teams experience. Unlimited dial-in provides peace of mind that users will be able to join their Microsoft Teams meeting from virtually any device regardless of location. This is another example of Microsoft's continuous value-add but is not a driving factor in the new prices.
While no immediate action is needed at this time, many of our customers are budgeting for 2022, so we want you to be aware of this. You will be impacted by these changes – the question is when and how.
Contact Interlink today to begin to gauge the impact of these changes and ways we can help.
At Interlink, Sarah serves as the Operations Manager as well as a Senior Director of Client Engagement working with a broad spectrum of clients across Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, focusing in Cincinnati and Kentucky. She has a decade of experience in Office 365 Migrations, managed services, vendor relationships and product hardware quoting and purchasing. She is responsible for overseeing Microsoft partner relationships and strives to build meaningful, positive relationships with our clients.