Microsoft has announced pricing changes effective 1 July. This is a short note on what it means practically and what we are advising.
The month-to-month premium
The change that catches most organisations is the premium applied to month-to-month billing compared with an annual commitment. Flexibility has a price, and for organisations with stable headcount that price is often being paid for no benefit.
What we are recommending
- Reconcile licence counts against actual staff before renewal, not after
- Split the estate — commit annually on your stable core, keep a flexible margin for genuine variability
- Check whether anyone is on a higher tier than their role requires
- Review shared mailboxes and service accounts, which are often over-licensed
What we are not recommending
Switching suite entirely in response to a price change rarely ends well. The migration cost, the retraining, and the integrations you would rebuild usually exceed several years of the increase. If a move is right for you, it should be right for reasons other than this.
Change platforms because the platform is wrong, not because the invoice went up.
If you are a managed client we will raise this with you before your renewal date. If you are not and would like a second opinion on your licensing, we are happy to look.