In case you haven’t heard, Microsoft is increasing its subscription prices for Microsoft 365 in March.
It’s the first big price rise in a decade. And you can expect to pay around 20% to 40% more.
In fact, it’s not just a price increase. Microsoft is also changing the way it sells 365. It’s a complicated situation and there’s bound to be some short-term pain as we all get used to it.
Here are the basic details. You should talk to your IT support partner over the next few weeks to see exactly how it’s going to affect your business.
Beginning in March, you’ll have a choice of sticking with the rolling month-by-month contract and swallowing the price increase. Or you can commit to a 12-month agreement.
The big benefit of an agreement is that it will lock in your current pricing for a year. But there’s a downside – you’ll lose flexibility.
During your contract you can increase the number of licenses you use… but you can’t decrease them. In real terms, that means if you hire more staff, it won’t be a problem to give them access to the essential business tools they need. But if your headcount goes down for any reason, you’ll have to pay for the 365 licenses you no longer need. You also won’t be able to move your Microsoft licensing to another IT support company during that contract.
The other option then, is to have a monthly rolling contract. You can add or remove licenses as needed, but overall, the price will be higher. For some businesses, that flexibility will be worth paying extra for, and better value long-term.
It’s worth thinking through your plans for the next 15 months before deciding.
If you want to talk through which option’s going to be best for you, get in touch with us today.
