There are three certainties in life. They are in no particular order: Death, taxes, and the fact that your business’s subscriptions are going to go up in price.
There isn’t much that I can help you with on the first two, so let’s take a look at the pricing changes going on over at Microsoft.
First the bad news.
Prices on Microsoft subscriptions are going up across the board for the most commonly used workplace licenses, including the Business Basic, Premium, E3, and E5 licenses.
Notably though, education and consumer products are not being impacted by price changes.
Microsoft first announced that these changes were in the pipeline back in August. They cited their advances in collaboration and communication tools like Teams and SharePoint, as well as increased security and automation technologies that they have worked into their product in recent years, to show added value. Though they did not directly tie the waves of features to this specific rise in prices.
Image credit: CallTower
Looking at these price changes, they might not be dramatic but they will have an impact on costs. Especially for those organizations purchasing lots of licenses. Note though that these numbers only reflect the cost of the annual plans.
Microsoft appears to be taking this opportunity to direct customers off of their older packages and towards the NCE.
Microsoft is offering a 5% discount to those who choose to move to the new commerce experience (NCE)’s annual plan by June 30. Prices will of course spike higher for those that want to go month-to-month. New subscriptions for NCE must be purchased by March 14th, so organizations considering making this move should act sooner than later.
New Legacy subscriptions in NCE need to be renewed by July 1. They will not be automatically renewed, so either way an action must be taken on your end to either continue or move to a different plan. While the folks up in Redmond are talking about providing a grace period for those that do not act by the deadline, do not expect any discounts for this track as they apparently really want to drive traffic towards the NCE.
Nobody wants to pay more, but we learn that understanding the ratio of annual vs monthly subscriptions isn’t exactly straightforward.
Building the Right License Portfolio
Speaking with CallTower’s Chief Revenue Officer William Rubio, he explains that some organizations that operate with seasonal or project-based workforces may opt for some of these monthly packages.
“Figuring out what the right balance of annual to monthly plans means starting with the right forecasting about what your base number of employees is likely to be throughout the year,” he says.
He notes though that you then have to work in the expected fluctuations, “If I have a hundred employees in need of licenses but know that the number could go up to 110 or so, then I might not want to commit to the highest number already at the beginning of the year. I need to take into account factors like growth and contraction that can change my headcount.”
Getting this number correct can be difficult. Given the changes that we have seen from COVID, supply chain issues, and now whatever may emerge from geopolitical conflict, we are chasing after a moving target. If you’re this good at getting the over under right, then maybe consider a trip to Vegas to hit up the blackjack tables.
There are a variety of paths to take when it comes to deciding which packages and mix of subscription types you want to take, but it is best to consult with an expert who can understand the needs of your organization and find the right combination to fit.
As providers of Microsoft products since 2008, CallTower has the experience and inside-out knowledge to help organizations navigate their way to the right package of licenses to meet their needs. Furthermore, they can even help customers to find additional savings than if they buy directly from Microsoft.
“We have always taken a ‘solutions over products’ approach,” says Rubio, explaining that CallTower works closely with customers to understand their specific needs and tailor the right set of technologies for them.
“We reject the one-size-fits-all approach that you are likely to find if you just interact directly with a vendor. CallTower has the experience in helping our customers to find the right solutions to their UCaaS needs, and we are able to provide guidance on how to avoid overpaying as they are assessing how to navigate these pricing changes”
For more information consultation, contact a CallTower agent for a consultation.
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