Last year Microsoft updated the way Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Teams were licensed in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. Now Microsoft has announced the plan to extend that approach worldwide. These changes are intended to realign Microsoft’s global subscription structure following changes made in Europe in 2023, providing greater consistency for their clients.
Effective April 1, 2024, Microsoft is introducing 1) a new lineup of commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites that do not include Teams in regions outside the EEA and Switzerland, and 2) a new standalone Teams offering for Enterprise clients in those regions.
- Commercial clients who wish to provide information workers with both Microsoft Teams and the value in existing Microsoft 365 E3/E5 or Office 365 E1/E3/E5 suites will need to purchase two SKUs: one E1/E3/E5 (no Teams) suite and Microsoft Teams Enterprise.
- Small and medium business clients will be able to choose between the existing Microsoft 365 Business Basic/Standard/Premium suites with Teams or the new (no Teams) versions of those suites.
- Frontline workers, clients will be able to choose between the existing Microsoft 365 F1, Office 365 F3, and Microsoft 365 F3 suites with Teams included or the new (no Teams) versions of those suites.
How is Microsoft Teams Enterprise different from Microsoft Teams Essentials?
- Microsoft Teams Enterprise provides meetings, chat, calling (VOIP), and collaboration without any limitation on seat numbers and a 1000-seat cap on meeting attendees.
- Microsoft Teams Essentials remains unchanged; it provides meetings, chat, calling (VOIP), and collaboration for clients worldwide with up to 300 users, with a 300-seat meeting attendee cap.
Why is Microsoft ending sale of existing Enterprise suites while continuing to offer existing SMB and Frontline worker suites?
- These changes are intended to realign our global subscription structure following changes made in Europe in 2023. The different approach taken in Enterprise vs. SMB and Frontline was a compromise intended to address concerns raised with the European Commission while limiting disruption for clients, partners, and sellers.
Which clients are considered “existing” and therefore will continue to be able to subscribe to Microsoft 365 E3/E5 or Office 365 E1/E3/E5 suites that include Teams?
- “Existing clients” are clients with an active license for any Microsoft 365/Office 365 suite with Teams prior to the end-of sale date for Enterprise suites with Teams in that client’s region. *
Existing CSP clients of the Enterprise suites that include Teams outside of the EEA and Switzerland who wish to change partners will be able to continue to purchase the Enterprise suites with Teams through CSP. CSP partners can continue to sell the Enterprise suites with Teams to existing clients outside of the EEA and Switzerland through June 30, 2024.
Note: If at any time the client no longer has any active licenses to a Microsoft 365/Office 365 suite with Teams, they will no longer be considered an existing client. Due to systems limitations, clients will also not be recognized as existing clients if they change their purchasing channel except when moving to EA/EAS or moving to/from MCA-E and to/from Buy Online (Direct).
*October 1, 2023, for EEA + Switzerland; April 1, 2024, for all other countries
Are there any changes to licensing or usage rights?
- No, this announcement does not include any changes to the licensing or usage rights of the Microsoft 365 or Office 365 products, aside from the exclusion of Teams from the new “no Teams” suites.
Will the (no Teams) suites still include [any given suite feature: Viva Insights, Audio Conferencing, Teams Phone, etc.]?
- Yes. The new (no Teams) suites will still include all the same workloads as the full suite, except for Teams itself. However, in order to use workloads that require Teams, clients must still ensure they are licensed for Teams either as part of the suite (for Frontline worker and Business suites) or as a standalone (for Enterprise suites).
Where does Microsoft Viva fit in relation to this announcement?
- These changes do not impact licensing or pricing for the Viva modules. However, we recommend licensing Viva together with Teams for the best user experience. Some features in Viva require Teams in order to work, and even for those where Teams is not required, using Viva with Teams will often provide a better experience.
If an existing client wants to transition to the “no Teams” SKUs at Anniversary, what is the grace period for license reassignment?
- The prior licenses that include Teams will be treated as expired subscriptions which have a 90-day grace period. For subscription lifecycle states, see additional details here.
Please contact Bruce Gagliolo (bgagliolo@mailctp.com) or your Client Manager if you have any questions or need assistance, we are here to help.
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