Another announcement at Microsoft Inspire is that soon users will be able to view and interact with Dynamics 365 records and data directly inside Microsoft Teams – without requiring additional licensing.
In a blog post, Microsoft state that they are “eliminating the licensing tax” that has previously prevented organisations from integrating Dynamics 365 & Microsoft Teams. There isn’t a huge amount of additional information available yet so the specific questions as to what data can be shared and what can be done to it etc. will have to wait for another day. This blog from Jukka Niiranen attempts to uncover some potential insights from the Microsoft demo video that’s available.
However, it is clear that this is (another) shot at Salesforce in Microsoft’s efforts to make Dynamics 365 the #1 CRM system out there. It also serves to further Teams’ growing position as the central hub for users throughout their work day, where they’re able to do most things at this point (but no email).
Extended Security Updates (ESUs), available for Windows Server 2008/R2 and SQL Server 2008/R2, were introduced in 2019 to extend available security support for 3 more years beyond the end of the products’ extended support periods.
It’s now less than 12 months until the end of the ESU period for SQL Server 2008/R2 and Microsoft have announced they will be providing 12 additional months of cover – but only for workloads running in Azure. This will also apply to Windows Server 2008/R2 – the end of ESU dates are:
SQL Server 2008/R2 – July 12, 2022
Windows Server 2008/R2 – January 10, 2023
End of support for 2012 Server versions
They have announced the availability of ESUs for the 2012/R2 releases of SQL Server and Windows Server. Extended Support for these ends:
SQL Server 2012 – July 12, 2022
Windows Server 2012/R2 – October 10, 2023
It’s now less than 12 months until SQL Server 2012 goes out of support so if you’re using that within your organisation, you need to come up with a plan to:
A new member of the 365 family has joined us – alongside Office 365, Microsoft 365, and Dynamics 365 – we now have Windows 365.
Formerly known as Cloud PC, this latest offering enables you to stream an entire PC – including the OS, apps, and settings – from the cloud to any device. This means Windows 10 and 11 will be easily available on any device – including MacOS and Linux.
Although clearly driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid, global shift to hybrid working, something like this has been a long time coming in many regards. It’s also driven by the changing security landscape…Microsoft also see this as a way to help organisations combat the rise of security threats – let Microsoft take care of securing your desktops so you don’t have to.
Although specific pricing information hasn’t been released yet, it’s expected there will be a range of pre-set options, making it more of an “off the shelf” SaaS offering than the current Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD). Different SKUs and plans will offer different amounts of storage, processing power, memory etc. for organisations to choose from, with Satya Nadella stating this offering would be applicable to businesses of any size.
while users with non-Windows Pro endpoints require:
Windows VDA E3 + EMS E3
Alternatively, both scenarios can be covered by licenses for:
Microsoft 365 F3/E3/E5/Business Premium
Technical requirements
It’s not quite as straightforward as just having those licenses, you will also need:
Azure subscription
Azure Virtual Network
Azure Active Directory sync
Certain ports open
to ensure that everything works optimally.
More information on the requirements and how to provision can be found here.
Finally…
Not surprisingly, there will be 2 flavours available:
Windows 365 Business
Windows 365 Enterprise
and it is set to launch on August 2, 2021. I look forward to seeing more information as it becomes available…and hopefully trying it out myself!
Update
While Microsoft are yet to announce official pricing, pricing for 1 SKU has been revealed. For a desktop with 2vCPU/4GB RAM/128GB storage it will $31 per user per month ($372 per year) – which strikes me as quite expensive…
Microsoft 365 Education Insights Premium listed as an add-on for Office 365 A1/A3/A5 and Microsoft 365 A3/A5
The “Third Party re-imaging clause” has been added to the Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA), although I’m not 100% sure why at the moment.
Windows “Get Genuine” licenses have been added to the Microsoft Customer Agreement – is this related to the above addition perhaps?
Various terms and clauses updated – including one which clarifies that Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) access rights in Window 10 licenses are limited to customers’ own tenant.s
M365 E5 security/compliance add-ons removed as pre-requisites for Premium Assessments.
Professional Direct Support added for Power Platform. Licenses must be acquired for every Dynamics 365 and Power Platform license on the agreement – but has a maximum of 250. Any licenses above that are covered without additional licenses being required.
Microsoft announced on July 1, 2021 that they’re cutting the price of Power Apps in half(ish) from October 1, 2021.
Power Apps per User
This was $40 per user per month but will be $20 from October 1, 2021.
Power Apps per App
This was $10 per user per app per month but will $5 from October 1, 2021. However, it should be noted that the features have been reduced too – currently it gives access to:
2 x Apps and 1 x Portal
But under the new rules, each license will allow access to:
1 x App or 1 x Portal
Meaning certain scenarios may not see a real price reduction.
Customers with licenses purchased before October 1, 2021 will retain the current entitlements until renewal.
For organisations looking to purchase before October 2021, there are two promotions which have been extended:
Power Apps per user Promo
$12 per user per month with a minimum purchase of 5,000 licenses.
Power Apps per app Promo
$3 per user per app per month with a minimum purchase of 200 licenses.
There is also promotional pricing available for Power Apps Portals login capacity – both for Tier 4 (25,000+ logins per month) and Tier 5 (100,000+ logins per month).
It seems that Microsoft are gearing up to position CSP (Cloud Solution Provider) as a replacement for Enterprise Agreement Level A.
In a recent blog post from Dan Truax, General Manager for Partner Digital Experiences and Programs, Microsoft revealed some very interesting information. The post talks about how the current purchasing experience across the various licensing programs is “fractured” as each program has its own terms, prices, consoles, sales processes etc. It states that all customers will sign the “Microsoft Customer Agreement” (MCA) which is currently only for CSP and there will be two “motions – Breadth (CSP) and Enterprise. The desire to simplify licensing is far from new but the blog post goes on to state:
“Partner economics in the breadth motion will be optimized for deals below 2400 seats for new commerce seat-based online service offers, or Azure deals below $1M USD annualized consumption”
Now, “Breadth motion” = CSP and 2,400 seats is the starting point for Enterprise Agreement Level B pricing. This seems to indicate that Microsoft will re-level pricing, and partner rebates and incentives, to make CSP the more attractive option for organisations below 2,400 seats. This is a fairly significant change, furthering Microsoft’s move to make Enterprise Agreements the domain of the large customers with more bespoke needs.
A few years ago, they raised the EA Level A entry point from 250 to 500 seats and I’ve long expected it to be increase to 1,000. In the above post, Microsoft state that the new incentives and pricing changes won’t be implemented before March 2022 at the earliest so perhaps we won’t see any changes until then.
Microsoft are adding a cut down version of Visio directly into Teams, enabling users to create, edit, and share diagrams without leaving the ever growing central location for productivity. The new app will be available to users with the following licenses:
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Apps for business
Office 365 E1
Office 365 E3
Office 365 E5
Office 365 F3
Microsoft 365 F3 (includes Office 365 F3)
Microsoft 365 E3 (includes Office 365 E3)
Microsoft 365 E5 (includes Office 365 E5)
Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise
Office 365 A1
Office 365 A3
Office 365 E5
Microsoft 365 A1 (one-time, per-device license with free Office 365 A1 per user licenses)
Microsoft 365 A3 (includes Office 365 A3)
Microsoft 365 A5 (includes Office 365 A5)
You can see more info, and sign up for early access (not EU), here.
Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) has been renamed to Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) – a name change that suggests a broadening of its capabilities and market positioning. More than just a rebrand though, Microsoft have added a range of new capabilities as well as new licensing options.
Typically, AVD is licensed via users’ existing Microsoft 365 licenses but Microsoft have added a new “per-user” app streaming option, aimed at enabling organisations to offer AVD SaaS solutions to external users and customers.
Pricing
Currently AVD per-user is on promotional pricing meaning that “streaming first-party or third-party applications to external users” can be done free of charge from July 14, 2021 to December 31, 2021. From January 1, 2022 pricing will be:
Despite us all believing that Windows 10 was the last version of Windows…here we are with Windows 11 announced and fast approaching.
What do we know?
Microsoft have said “holiday season 2021” so I’d imagine it will be available in time for Black Friday with things really ramping up for Xmas.
Not all devices running Windows 10 will be able to run the new OS:
You can download the Health Check app here to find out. There is a requirement for TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chips and, according to TechRadar, many devices that have one may have them disabled by default – which means the Health Check app fails machines which, ultimately, will be able to run Windows 11. Before you go an buy a new machine, take a look and see if you’ve got a TPM chip to enable!
One has to wonder what this might mean for businesses – is Windows 11 going to require a big wave of hardware refreshes? If so, I can see Windows 10 becoming the new Windows XP!
What’s new?
Some of the key changes include:
Keyboard optimised for touch and tablet use
Snap layouts – let you arrange multiple windows in various configurations, you can see some of the options here:
You will also be able to create multiple fully separated desktops.
“Chat from Teams” integrated into the taskbar and the ability to use 2-way SMS messaging.
Revamped Microsoft Store which will include Android apps via a partnership with Intel and Amazon.
Annual updates rather than the current 2 per year.
The Taskbar will be centered and, it seems, will have to be positioned at the bottom of the screen. I’ve had mine at the top for years (it’s the best place to have it!) and can imagine this being enough to keep me on 10 for a while! 🤣
There was a pretty big change this month as Microsoft removed a key requirement for “From SA” licenses. These allow organisations that have on-premises licenses with Software Assurance (SA) to migrate to Microsoft 365 at a reduced price – taking into account the investment in SA.
Back in early 2020, Microsoft added a clause that customers had to retain their existing on-premises licenses throughout the “From SA” subscription period. This presented a barrier for organisations in Europe looking to engage in the 2nd-hand software market and re-sell their (now unwanted) on-premises licenses.
However, in June 2021 Microsoft said:
For customers who choose to purchase “From SA” licenses, we removed the requirement that customer retain the corresponding Qualifying Licenses throughout its From SA license subscription period
It’s a very interesting move from Microsoft and I am keen to see what related announcements we might see at their Inspire conference in July.
Further changes include:
Windows 10 Enterprise/E3 has been removed as a pre-requisite for the M365 F5 add-on SKUs.
Remote Work Starter Plan added to CSP <– This seems to have launched in Japan in August 2020 and looks to be basically a “Teams+OneDrive” SKU
Customers with Microsoft Project Plan 1/3/5 are only permitted to use Universal Resource Scheduling to schedule Project and Task tables within the context of a project
Cloudy with a chance of Licensing 