tl;dr -- Do the new Microsoft (No Teams) licensing changes essentially make it far less worthwhile to try to get clients to switch Office 365 providers? Isn't this just another middle finger to CSPs?
Hey MSP community,
I just learned (about a month late) about the new changes to Microsoft's Office 365 Lineup to no longer bundle Teams with any of the Office 365 Enterprise plans.
My question is this.. Say we have a customer that has a bunch of E3 licenses with another provider, and we convince them to switch to us. Wouldn't it be the case that we'd have to provision them net new licensing and charge them the new licensing scheme?
From my calculations, if we are looking at retail pricing, the new pricing is $33.75/mo (E3) + $5.25/mo (Teams Enterprise) = $39 whereas the old E3 pricing was $36.00
Since the incumbent provider is able to continue to keep them on old E3 licensing pricing, their pricing advantage would be about 8.33% for all existing licensing requiring us to cut our margin (or go negative, depending on what that margin might be)
Am I misreading this situation? Would the customer be considered then Net New if they swap providers?
Sources:
Wayback Machine Teams Pricing on Jan 1st:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240107213218/https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/microsoft365-plans-and-pricing
Current Teams Pricing:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/microsoft365-plans-and-pricing
MS Weasel Words?:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/news/microsoft365-teams-ww
Can Microsoft 365 Business Basic (No Teams) replace Microsoft Office 365 Business Standard?
What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Business Basic (No Teams) and Microsoft Office 365 Business Standard?
What are the absolute core features I get with Microsoft 365 Business Basic if I'm not planning to use Microsoft Teams?
Dear Sundaram Gupta
Thanks a lot for your feedback and patience! Very sorry for late reply!
Based on your further description, yes the customer can use 300 licenses of Microsoft 365 Business Basic and 250 licenses of Microsoft 365 Business Basic (No Teams) on the same tenant ID. Regarding the SKUs, they are different. The primary difference is that the Microsoft 365 Business Basic (No Teams) plan does not include Microsoft Teams, which helps reduce the cost.
In addition, please also kindly check:
M365 Business Basic includes access to web and mobile versions of Office apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as business email, cloud storage, and Microsoft Teams.
M365 Business Basic (No Teams) includes the same features as M365 Business Basic but does not include Microsoft Teams.
For your reference: Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 **** and **** Compare Microsoft 365 Business Plans and Pricing | Microsoft 365
Sincerely hope that your problem will be solved as soon as possible! Wish you have a wonderful day!
Sincerely
Kerry Chen | Community Moderator
Dear Sundaram Gupta
Good day! Thanks for posting in the Microsoft Community. We'll be happy to help!
First of all, we regret for the inconvenience caused to your work. Based on your description, I have a general understanding of your question, yes, you can suggest and provide Microsoft 365 Business Basic (No Team) licenses to help reduce costs. Here’s how you can proceed:
Microsoft 365 Business Basic (No Team) licenses offer the following features:
- Custom business email (******@yourbusiness.com) For your reference: Add a custom domain name - Microsoft Support **** and Change your email address to use your custom domain - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn
- Web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
- 1 TB of cloud storage per employee
- Automatic spam and malware filtering
- Anytime phone and web support
- Secure cloud services: Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint
To get more details please kindly check: Compare Microsoft 365 Business Plans and Pricing | Microsoft 365
Here are detailed steps:
- Renew Existing Licenses: Renew the 300 Microsoft 365 Business Basic licenses as usual.
- Purchase New Licenses: Purchase 250 Microsoft 365 Business Basic (No Team) licenses.
- Assign Licenses: In the Microsoft 365 admin center, assign the new licenses to the respective users. You can manage licenses under the "Active Users" section by selecting users and assigning the appropriate licenses. For your reference: Assign or unassign licenses for users in the Microsoft 365 admin center - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn
In addition, please kindly note:
- Ensure that the new licenses meet the customer’s requirements, especially if they rely on Microsoft Teams for collaboration.
- Verify that the transition does not disrupt any ongoing workflows or services.
Meanwhile, if you still need further help or I misunderstood your meaning, please kindly correct me and share more details with me so that I can do more research and tests, thanks.
Thank you in advance for your understanding. Your patience and cooperation will be greatly appreciated. I hope for all the best!
Sincerely
Kerry Chen | Community Moderator
I want to use a custom domain name for my business email and I'm looking for the most cost effective plan.
It seems like for $0.75 more a month, the Business Basic plan gives so much more. Unless I'm misunderstanding some parts of the offerings, is there any reason I should go with Exchange Online (Plan 1)?
I have the desktop apps for Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 if that makes a difference.
Yes its true, but only for a very specific set of licenses.
New clients for Office365 E1/E3/E5 and Microsoft365 E3/E5 will not include Teams.
Existing subscribers and other plans can choose if you want your license with or without teams.
Hello ДБТХ Нямсүрэн,
Hope you are doing well. Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft community.
Yes, that’s true! Microsoft has introduced new suites without Teams, which are named the same as the existing suites plus “(no Teams).” These “no Teams” suites are available in the following offers:
- Microsoft 365 E3/E5
- Office 365 E1/E3/E5
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Business Standard, Business Basic
- Microsoft 365 F1/F3
- Office 365 F312
Existing customers will continue to enjoy their current licensing deal that bundles Teams with Office. They also have the option to renew the deal, update or switch to new offers. So, if you’re looking for a package without Teams, you now have that option!
Kindly see the link for more information: Important Notice: Changes to Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Microsoft Teams licensing. - Microsoft Community Hub
I hope the above information is helpful and If any other information is required regarding this, you can reply to us. We will try to assist you. Thank you for your kind understanding. Your patience and cooperation are much appreciated.
Sincerely
Nafis Iqbal Shuvo | Community Moderator
@Anonymous
Microsoft Teams licensing has indeed seen some changes recently. Here's a brief overview to help clarify:
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: Previously, this license included access to Microsoft Teams, but only via web and mobile apps. Users often faced issues when trying to use the Teams Desktop app.
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard: This license allows users to use Microsoft Teams on web, mobile, and desktop applications. It includes the full suite of Office applications both online and offline.
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium: Similar to Business Standard, this license includes access to Microsoft Teams on all platforms (web, mobile, and desktop) and offers additional security features.
- Microsoft Teams Essentials: This is a new standalone license specifically for Microsoft Teams. It provides access to Teams on web, mobile, and desktop without requiring a full Microsoft 365 suite license.
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic (without Teams): This is a new option that excludes Microsoft Teams from the Business Basic plan. It provides access to other M365 apps on web only.
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Microsoft 365 and Office 365 now offer versions without Teams, with a price decrease and the opportunity to buy Teams as a standalone offer. These changes are intended to realign Microsoft’s global subscription structure following changes made in Europe in 2023.