Microsoft will be changing their Microsoft and Office 365 licensing plans beginning March 1, 2022 to what they are calling the New Commerce Experience. Xtego Networks has been an official Microsoft Partner for many years, and we are committed to providing Office 365 products to our customers in accordance with these upcoming changes.
What’s changing on March 1, 2022?
There are two main things that are changing: pricing and term. Let’s take a moment to look at each below.
Pricing
Microsoft is increasing pricing on many of the Office and Microsoft licensing products, on average, about 15%. This is the first major pricing increase in the Office 365 lineup that we’ve seen since these products were launched. Below are the affected products:
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium
- Office 365 E1
- Office 365 E3
- Office 365 E5
- Microsoft 365 E3
Other Microsoft and Office 365 plans will not see pricing changes.
Term
This is where things get a little more complicated. In the past, if you were to purchase licenses directly from Microsoft, you would receive discounted pricing if you signed a one-year contract. Microsoft partners like Xtego Networks were not bound by the one-year contract requirement. This allowed us to offer the discounted pricing whether our customers chose monthly or yearly invoicing. This will no longer be the case after March 1. While Xtego will still give our customers the flexibility of monthly, quarterly or yearly invoicing, we will be requiring all customers to sign a one-year agreement for their license count to continue to receive discounted pricing. Customers who do not wish to sign the agreement will see increased pricing of 20% on their licenses (on top of the 15% price increase from above.)
Note: The new term requirements are required across board on all 365 products regardless of whether or not a product will be affected by the price increases above.
FAQs
Will my pricing increase?
At Xtego, we’ve been commited to providing the best products at the best value for our customers. With that in mind, we carry two teirs of Office 365 and Microsoft 365 pricing: managed and MSRP. Whether or not your pricing increases will be based on which plan you’re on.
Managed
Managed 365 plans include Xtego Networks management for adding and removing users, as well as performing adminstrative changes to your Microsoft 365 enviroment. These plans are generally a little more expensive than buying from Microsoft directly. The advantage to our customers is that all administrative duties with the account are covered and you don’t need to worry about being your own IT administrator when you require assistance.
Some managed plan pricing is increasing while others will remain unchanged based on the product list above.
MSRP
MSRP plans work differently. Under these plans, Xtego Networks simply allocates your Microsoft and Office 365 licensing. For these plans, the customer manages the administrative duties of the account or pays Xtego service fees for management. These plans follow the advertised (MSRP) pricing of Microsoft’s 365 plans exactly. We sometimes get asked, “shouldn’t we just buy our licenses from Microsoft directly?” While that is a possibility, there are three main reasons why we recommend sticking with Xtego Networks:
- The pricing is exactly the same. You won’t save any money by buying from Microsoft directly.
- Your support options are better. As a registered Microsoft partner, Xtego Networks has access to support channels that are otherwise not available to the general public through our distribution channels. If you have an issue with your account, you have a single point of contact to field your issue to the correct channel.
- You support small business. Xtego Networks thanks our customers for partnering with us and supporting the companies that make up our community.
MSRP plans will see price increase to match Microsoft’ global pricing increases.
How do I sign the one-year commitment?
We will be contacting individual customers within the coming weeks regarding the signing of a one-year commitment. Again, it is not required that you sign this commitment, you may continue to use your services on a month to month basis, but those products will incur a 20% price increase beginning in the March 2022 billing cycle.
What if I do nothing?
If you do not choose to sign the new 12 month commitment, your pricing will increase 20% over the upcoming price changes beginning in the March 2022 billing cycle.
Does my existing customer history count toward the new one-year commitment?
No. Exsisting customer history does not count toward the new commitments. This is a change that is happening with Microsoft globally. New commitments start from billing date stated on the agreement.
Can I upgrade or downgrade license counts?
You may upgrade license counts at any time without penalty. Downgrading license counts would free up licenses on your account to be reallocated to new users. While you can remove licenses from your account, you would still be billed for the number of licenses you originally commited to.
I have a question not answered here.
If you have questions related to these changes that you don’t see answered here, please feel free to reach out to us.