Your Next EA Renewal: Why Your M365 Roadmap Is the Key to Negotiation Microsoft 365 is not simply the largest licensing component of the Enterprise Agreement (EA). It also is the place where Microsoft can most clearly read where you are heading — what you are adopting, ...

EA negotiations can be like a game of licensing Tetris. And M365 is one of the most important pieces. What does this mean for your org? Directions' Lane Shelton has thoughts: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/your-next-ea... #MSLicensing

New Marketplace Introduces Competitive Bidding for Microsoft 365 Licensing LicenseBids platform connects businesses purchasing Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace subscriptions with Cloud Solution Providers through an RFQ marketplace

New marketplace aims to bring competitive bidding to Microsoft 365 licensing procurement — interesting timing given recent NCE changes and the EA discount elimination: www.einpresswire.com/article/9011... #MSLicensing #CSP

Major M365 Copilot Changes Coming April 15 If you use M365 Copilot, or more specifically Copilot Chat, get ready for a number of changes on April 15   Microsoft announced in the M365 Admin Message Center two significant changes to Copilot Chat...

Major M365 Copilot Changes Coming April 15. Get ready for new Copilot naming, plus Office App Chat reductions for larger tenants: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/major-m365-c... #MSLicensing #MSTech

Your Next EA Renewal: Why the Microsoft Lens Matters Enterprise Agreement negotiations with Microsoft have always been shaped by two forces: numbers and narrative.   Numbers reflect the economic scale of the relationship, and include metrics such as how...

A new post in our "EA Renewal' licensing series from Directions' Lane Shelton: The way Microsoft evaluates customers has become more holistic and more narrative driven. Here's what to know about the 'Microsoft Lens': www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/your-next-ea... #MSLicensing

M365 E7 to Launch May 1 for $99 Per User Per Month Microsoft will launch a new, high-end Microsoft 365 licensing tier, Microsoft 365 E7, on May 1, priced at US$99 per user per month. For that price, customers will get all the features in Microsoft 365...

Microsoft 365 E7 to Launch May 1 for $99 Per User Per Month: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/m365-e7-to-l... #MSLicensing #MSTech

Why Microsoft 365 E7 Is More Than Just a New Licensing Tier Initial reports around the expected new Microsoft 365 E7 have focused on pricing and packaging, presenting it as a higher-end bundle that includes AI features and carries a higher price tag. That fram...

Microsoft 365 E7: New bundle. Possibly a new economic model. Analysis from Directions' Lane Shelton:
directionsonmicrosoft.com/why-microsof... #MSLicensing

Microsoft 365 E7: A New Agent-Centered Subscription Plan Expected Soon Microsoft is expected to introduce a new Microsoft 365 subscription sometime in the next few months: The long-rumored E7. But M365 E7 isn’t simply Microsoft 365 E5 plus M365 Copilot delivered as a sin...

Microsoft's long-rumored M365 E7 subscription may arrive soon. Here's what we're hearing about it so far: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/microsoft-36... #MSLicensing #MSTech

Your Next EA Renewal: How to Avoid the Financial Cliff For years, Enterprise Agreement (EA) renewals have been high-stakes exercises. They required preparation, modeling, and disciplined negotiation. Even in their difficulty, renewals followed a familiar ...

Your Next EA Renewal: How to Avoid the Financial Cliff. Part 1 of a coming licensing blog series from Directions' Lane Shelton: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/your-next-ea... #MSLicensing

New podcast: Microsoft 365 Copilot Licensing: Five Things You Need to Know (whether you're still on the fence or in the midst of deploying M365 Copilot), featuring Directions' analyst Rob Horwitz: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/podcasts/mic... #MSLicensing

New podcast is out! SQL Server 2016 and 2017 are leaving Extended support in the not-too-distant future. Directions' analyst @expatandyuk.bsky.social shares his preparation tips and checklist with @maryjofoley.bsky.social: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/podcasts/sql... #MSTech #MSLicensing

Microsoft Claims 15 Million Paid M365 Copilot Seats Microsoft has released for the first time an AI adoption number about which many had been curious. During its Q2 FY26 earnings call on January 28, officials said the company now has 15 million paid se...

Microsoft Claims 15 Million Paid M365 Copilot Seats. (Is that good?) And more takeaways from its Q2 FY26 earnings call: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/microsoft-cl... #MSTech #MSLicensing

Does Microsoft care about what you care about? The last three years have seen Microsoft pivot to a hard focus on AI, similar to how the company turned to the web browser and internet in the late 1990s or tried to shoulder up to Apple and Google in...

Does Microsoft Care About What You Care About? If not, Directions' @jimgaynor.bsky.social has some ideas as to what you can do. #MSLicensing #MSTech

Blog: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/does-microso...
Podcast (with @maryjofoley.bsky.social): www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/podcasts/mic...

New podcast now live. Directions analyst @getwired.com talks with @maryjofoley.bsky.social about Microsoft bundling more separately priced features with Microsoft 365 SKUs, and what this means for customers and the long-rumored M365 E7: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/podcasts/wha... #MSLicensing

New podcast: Microsoft Licensing and Negotiation: A Year in Review -- featuring Directions' lead negotiator Dean Bedwell and @maryjofoley.bsky.social : www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/podcasts/mic... #MSLicensing #MSTech

As Microsoft transitions more customers off EAs and onto MCAs, orgs need to be aware of some potentially costly changes they may incur. Directions' lead negotiator Dean Bedwell shares with @maryjofoley.bsky.social the biggest gotchas: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/podcasts/mov... #MSLicensing

New podcast for you: As similar AI strategies proliferate, are there still reasons to choose Azure over AWS (or vice versa)? Duckbill's @quinnypig.com joins Directions' @getwired.com and @maryjofoley.bsky.social to debate the topic: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/podcasts/is-... #MSTech #MSLicensing

Microsoft Licensing is a full-time job in itself. 💸

Client: "Why do we need a Premium license for this app?" You: "Because we are hitting SQL Azure."

If you can explain the difference between "Per App" and "Per User" plans clearly to a CFO, you are invaluable.

#MSLicensing #PowerApps #Consulting

Microsoft to increase Office suite prices across the board starting July 2026 Microsoft will be increasing pricing for its commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites beginning July 1, 2026.    Company officials attributed the increase to the inclusion of AI capabilities suc...

In 2026, Microsoft will put into effect first substantial price increase for Microsoft 365 and Office 365 commercial suites since 2021. Here's what to expect: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/microsoft-to... #MSLicensing #MSTech

Microsoft Ignite 2025: Ten Things You Need to Know Microsoft’s annual Ignite conference for IT professionals, developers and partners, is kicking off this week in San Francisco. CEO Satya Nadella is not the lead keynoter this year; instead, the newly ...

What's going to be big at Microsoft's Ignite conference this week? Here are Directions' Top 10 picks -- the announcements that could impact enterprise customers and partners moving forward into 2026: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/microsoft-ig... #MSTech #MSLicensing

Microsoft's Agent 365 digital 'employees' are coming for your business Ahead of Microsoft’s Ignite conference next week, rumors are swirling about Microsoft launching an “Agent 365” platform. If the tips pan out, Agent 365 could become a way for Microsoft to unify how th...

Microsoft is expected to take the next step toward its promise of agents becoming digital workers with its 'Agent 365' platform: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/microsofts-a... #MSTech #MSLicensing

New Directions podcast is now available. Everything you wanted to know (or SHOULD want to know) about Microsoft ESUs with Directions' @jimgaynor.bsky.social , Rob Helm and @maryjofoley.bsky.social: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/podcasts/mic... #MSTech #MSLicensing

Microsoft puts Office Online Server on the chopping block : The end is nigh, now get thee to 365

Microsoft is dropping support for Office Online Server as of Dec. 31, 2026. Microsoft's recommended replacement (no surprise): Microsoft 365, which includes web-based versions of Word, Excel, PPT, OneNote: www.theregister.com/2025/10/22/m... #MSLicensing

New AI experiences and academic offering for Microsoft 365 Copilot | Microsoft Education Blog Explore new AI-powered experiences at no additional cost for educators and students—plus an academic offering for Microsoft 365 Copilot.

New M365 Copilot offering for academic customers (educators, staff, students) coming in Dec. 2025 at $18 per user per month (instead of the usual $30 for M365 Copilot): www.microsoft.com/en-us/educat... #MSLicensing

CTO Talk: Compliance in the World of AI: Are You Ready? By Barry Briggs Compliance covers an ever-increasing, absolutely mandatory spectrum of activities, processes, and technologies with which your enterprise must concern itself. The Compliance Imperative...

CIO Talk: Compliance in the world of AI -- Are you ready? www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/cto-talk-com... #MSTech #MSLicensing

Meet Microsoft 365 Premium: Your AI and productivity powerhouse | Microsoft 365 Blog Microsoft is taking a big step forward with major updates to our individual subscription lineup, combining the best of AI and productivity at an unbeatable price.

For clarity's sake: M365 Premium is NOT M365 E7. M365 "Premium," the just announced $20 per user per month subscription aimed at ChatGPT Plus, is a new consumer bundle: www.microsoft.com/en-us/micros... #MSTech #MSLicensing

Microsoft Begins Rolling Out More Model and Agent Options for M365 Copilot and Beyond Microsoft is adding Anthropic’s models to Microsoft 365 Copilot, alongside the existing OpenAI models that are already at the heart of it. Microsoft is kicking off this process by adding Anthropic’s C...

ICYMI: Microsoft is making Anthropic’s Claude a new option in Microsoft 365 Copilot. It also is starting to make good on more of its agent promises: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/microsoft-be... #MSTech #MSLicensing

Broadcom Inserts Itself into Azure VMware Solution In late August, Broadcom announced (yet another) change to how they license VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), the suite that includes VMware vSphere, vSAN, NSX, and cloud management software. That change...

Coming in Oct., new licensing changes instigated by Broadcom will force customers to bring their own licenses to VMware hosting from Microsoft and other providers: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/broadcom-ins... #MSLicensing #MSTech

New podcast now available. Directions on Microsoft Senior Consultant Steve Kelley shares his Microsoft contract escalation dos, don'ts, (and a few war stories) with @maryjofoley.bsky.social: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/podcasts/mic... #MSLicensing

Coming up Sept. 25, 1 PM ET: @maryjofoley.bsky.social will be hosting Directions on Microsoft's Dean Bedwell for an Ask Us Anything on Microsoft contract negotiations. Get your questions answered in real time during this LinkedIn Live event. More info: www.linkedin.com/events/micro... #MSLicensing

Microsoft Is Fixing its Copilot Branding and Pricing (A Bit) Microsoft is rebranding and repricing some of the products it had been selling as individual Copilots beginning in Oct. 2025.  Microsoft is renaming its Sales, Service and Finance Copilots, as it anno...

Microsoft is rebranding and repricing some of the products it had been selling as individual Copilots beginning in Oct. 2025: www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/microsoft-is... #MSLicensing #MSTech