Mapping – and Navigating – Microsoft’s EA Changes

When Microsoft first unveiled plans for a series of Office and Windows licensing and price changes, the October 1 go-live date seemed so far away. But now? October is right around the corner and so too is that revamped price structure. Before it hits, organizations should make sure they can answer the following questions.

What exactly are Microsoft’s EA changes?

Let’s start by briefly reviewing some of the biggest changes set to take effect this fall regarding Microsoft’s price structure:

• Office 2019 commercial licenses will increase 10% over their current position.
• Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition as well as so-called “productivity servers” – solutions supporting Exchange, SharePoint Server, etc. – will both be subject to a 10% price increase.
• Windows 10 Enterprise E3 Per Device faces a rebrand as Windows 10 Enterprise and will raise its price to match that of Windows 10 Enterprise E3 Per User which, in turn, will rebrand as Windows 10 Enterprise E3.

Additionally, Microsoft will eliminate volume discounts for a variety of programs. This includes Enterprise Agreements (EA) and Enterprise Agreement Subscriptions (EAS), MPSA, and Select/Select Plus among others. Lastly, to increase cost transparency for EA and EAS license holders, Microsoft will compile a pricing guide to better illustrate their cost breakdowns.

Will I be affected?

Does your organization hold pay-as-you-go licenses for on-premises Office deployments or leverage Windows 10 Enterprise E3 Per Device? If so, the changes will likely affect your organization. The cost of those perpetual licenses will go up in just a few weeks.

Microsoft’s goals with these changes are simplification, consistency and better alignment of a solution’s cost and value. Of course, tweaking the price structure in this could also serve an additional purpose. There seems to be some hope of encouraging those who haven’t adopted Microsoft’s cloud solutions to reconsider.

What can I do?

If these changes could affect your organization, one solution would be to, as mentioned previously, reconsider Microsoft’s stable of cloud solutions. Working with a certified Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) to explore those options can lead to unheard of cost certainty. CSP participants like Arraya can offer customer-friendly options that allow organizations to add and remove cloud bandwidth on-demand, ensuring they have access to everything they need and nothing they don’t. Even better – through Arraya’s Cloud-One – powered by Microsoft CSP – you’ll receive a single bill for all of your Microsoft cloud solutions and access to a 24×7 support desk for those services.

Want to learn more about Microsoft’s upcoming price changes or how your organization can benefit from Arraya’s Cloud-One? Visit https://www.arrayasolutions.com//contact-us/ to learn more.

As always, leave us a comment on this or any of our blogs through social media. Arraya can be found on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Once you’ve let us know what you think, follow us to stay updated on our industry insights and learning opportunities.