June 2021 announcements

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This page provides the announcements for Microsoft Partner Center for June 2021.

Phase 2 update: EU/EFTA and UK change of partner billing currency for new commerce offers

Categories

  • Date: 2021-06-24
  • Capabilities

Summary

Phase 2 of the European Union (EU)/European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and United Kingdom (UK) change of partner billing currency for new commerce offers is coming soon.

Impacted audience

Partners transacting through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program in the EU/EFTA and United Kingdom region

Details

In the EU/EFTA and United Kingdom region, all new commerce offers in the CSP program will use partner billing location instead of customer billing location. This means that partners will be billed by Microsoft based on their location currency, not their customers’ location currency. We announced that phase 1 went live on January 28, 2021. We’re now ready to share more details on phase 2 of this transition experience.

Phase 2

  • Existing customers who have already purchased a new commerce offer in CSP prior to phase 1

  • Existing customers who are purchasing new commerce offers for the first time and whose tenant was created on or after May 11, 2020

Update: Microsoft has postponed the phase 2 transition to start in mid-August due to additional testing validation required.

Starting in mid-August 2021, Microsoft will transition the billing of new commerce offers from customer location currency to partner location currency for partners with existing customers who have purchased a new commerce offer in CSP prior to phase 1, as well as customers who had their tenants created on or after May 11, 2020.

After phase 2, partners in the EU/EFTA and UK region will be billed in partner location currency for all customers and all CSP purchases.

Phase 2 will be rolled out to partners in batches, which means that there will be differences in the exact start date of phase 2 transition across partner organizations. We’ll be reaching out to partners directly with more information on their transition date in the coming weeks.

Note that this change will only affect partner billing currency and not the pricing of new commerce offers in CSP. The new commerce offers in scope for this change include the following:

  • Azure subscriptions that are part of an Azure plan
  • Azure reservations
  • Server subscriptions
  • Perpetual software
  • Microsoft commercial marketplace

Partner action

In preparation for this transition, we’ve documented the expected partner experience in a guide (sign-in required).

There are no technical changes to the Microsoft API or Partner Center. However, if you’re using Microsoft APIs or a third-party control panel vendor (CPV) for any kind of billing automation, partner action might be required to ensure that your commerce system is able to accommodate the change of currency.

Partner benefits

This update will reduce the complexity and overhead with multicurrency invoicing in the EU/EFTA and UK region for the new commerce experience.

  • Partners will receive a consolidated invoice in a single currency and will no longer receive an invoice for each customer location currency.
  • Incentive pay-outs will be in the same currency as the partner’s invoice currency.
  • Partners will notice reduced billing complexity caused by multicurrency invoicing, which will free up time and resources associated with reconciling accounts.
  • For partners who haven’t yet adopted new commerce offers, this change aligns with the previous partner billing model, so that they can transition easily to the new commerce experience in CSP.

Next steps

Review the information about this topic in the Operations resource gallery (sign-in required) on the Microsoft partner website.

Questions?

For questions related to this notification, contact Partner Center support (sign-in required).

Change log

  • May 17, 2021: Original announcement
  • June 24, 2021:
    • Transition date postponed from mid-July to mid-August
    • Phase 2 transition details documented in a partner guide (sign-in required)

View the latest promotions and offers

Categories

  • Date: 2021-06-22
  • Capabilities

Summary

The latest Global Promo Readiness Guide has now been published.

Impacted audience

Partners transacting through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program

Details

The latest Global Promo Readiness Guide, a consolidated view of all current and upcoming promotions, is now available on the Operations Readiness resource gallery. See active and upcoming promotions and offers at the Global Promo Readiness Guide collection.

Next steps

Review the latest monthly Promo Guide in the Operations Readiness resource gallery. Share this information with the appropriate contacts in your organization, and let us know if the guide is helpful by responding to the “Was this page helpful?” question at the bottom of the page.

Questions?

For questions about these offers, check your relevant Yammer communities.

Phase 1: Changes to Azure offer availability in the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) related to the new commerce experience coming soon

Categories

  • Date: 2021-06-21
  • Capabilities

Summary

Phase 1 of the changes to Azure offer availability in the CSP program related to the new commerce experience will take effect on July 21, 2021.

Impacted audience

Partners transacting through the CSP program

Details

As announced in January, changes to the previous Azure offer (Azure plan) in the CSP program will take effect on July 21, 2021 with phase 1.

There will be three phases of change to the previous Azure offer. In phase 1, all new Azure CSP program business will be on the new Azure plan. The following guidelines will apply:

  • For all existing reseller relationships between partners and customers in the CSP program, the partner can continue to transact the previous Azure offer and the customer can continue to purchase that offer from them if the customer has already purchased it before.

  • The previous Azure offer will no longer be available to net-new partners transacting in CSP.

  • The previous Azure offer will no longer be available to net-new customers purchasing via a partner in CSP.

  • For all new reseller relationships or new customer acquisitions, partners can only transact the new Azure offer (Azure plan).

  • For all existing reseller relationships between partners and customers, the partner can only transact the new Azure offer and the customer can only purchase that offer from them if the customer has never purchased Azure before.

In phase 2, which will begin sometime during the calendar year 2022, incentives and partner margin opportunity will be removed from the previous Azure offer. We’ll communicate the phase 2 start date to partners six months in advance.

In phase 3, any remaining customers on the previous Azure offer will be migrated to the new Azure offer in the CSP program (Azure plan). As with the previous phases, we’ll communicate the phase 3 start date to partners six months in advance.

Partner earned credit (PEC)

With the new commerce experience, partners get recognized for differentiated value-added services on an ongoing basis through the PEC model. PEC rewards partners who focus on driving customer success via value-added services that generate sustainable profitability.

Next steps

Familiarize yourself with the following resources:

PEC

The new commerce experience

Questions?

For questions related to this notification contact Partner Center support.

June Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) community update and reminders

Categories

  • Date: 2021-06-11
  • Grow Your Business

Summary

The CSP monthly update newsletter is now available, along with additional CSP community resources that provide you with essential program updates.

Impacted audience

CSP direct bill partners and indirect providers

Details

Key topics this month include:

CSP Community Q&A reminder

The monthly CSP community Q&A session provides you with an opportunity to learn more and ask questions about changes affecting the program. This month’s call will focus on the topics listed in the previous section and more.

Register here to join the call.

Always available—Launch content on demand

Within the monthly CSP community collection, you can find:

-The downloadable CSP Monthly Update newsletter which aggregates recent CSP announcements, updates, events, and reminders in an easy-to-read document.

Need licensing readiness? The monthly CSP spotlight webinars cover the latest CSP licensing information available for all partners.

Next steps

Review the community resources and register for the Community Call Q&A.

Questions?

The monthly CSP community Q&A call is the best place to bring questions about operational change in the CSP program. You may submit a question up to 48 hours before the call. All launch-related questions will be answered in the call and/or in the Q&A document published after the call. You can visit last month’s community collection to review the Q&A document that was published after the May event.

Questions on any other CSP topic? Visit the Partner Center support page.

Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) promo extensions for Microsoft 365 Audio Conferencing and Microsoft 365 Business Voice

Categories

  • Date: 2021-06-11
  • Offers/Markets

Impacted audience

All partners transacting through the CSP program

Details

Microsoft is extending two Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) promotions for partners to drive adoption of Teams as a meeting solution. Both promotions reduce friction associated with adding Voice and Audio Conferencing to a Microsoft 365 license, thereby giving customers the full value of Microsoft 365 and Teams as a meeting and calling solution.

Through December 31, 2021, customers can add Microsoft 365 Audio Conferencing as an add-on SKU to a Microsoft 365 subscription for free for 12 months.

Audio Conferencing Offer Name Promo Offer GUID Standard Offer GUID
Promo offer: Microsoft 365 Audio Conferencing Adoption 106da677-5af6-492a-ac7f-52b3b29a9762 c94271d8-b431-4a25-a3c5-a57737a1c909

New and renewal subscriptions of Microsoft 365 Business Voice with Calling Plan and Microsoft 365 Business Voice without Calling Plan will be subject to discount pricing through December 31, 2021. Microsoft 365 Business Voice with Calling Plan will be subject to a 25 percent discount for 12 months, and Microsoft 365 Business Voice without Calling Plan will be subject to a 33 percent discount for 12 months.

Offer details:

Business Voice Offer Names Promo Offer GUID Standard Offer GUID
Microsoft 365 Business Voice (Canada) ef3ff6bb-a288-4a56-9204-97b37ff9a0b8 2fc79cbc-5db1-4e1f-ac16-95e420cb86a0
Microsoft 365 Business Voice (UK) e7d1d0fa-b769-45c7-aaea-c3e6f7402691 27162687-feea-4d5a-8888-36a6c15add34
Microsoft 365 Business Voice (US) 93a8771f-ddc7-4c68-ac21-6bd1b17d1e5b 9f9f2c7b-c961-402b-9421-8e3c9207eeb3
Microsoft 365 Business Voice (without Calling Plan) (Canada) b71df433-6fd9-4549-886d-577f7aa06070 dad393d5-5f4c-443c-95ce-240b687bd255
Microsoft 365 Business Voice (without Calling Plan) (UK) bbfd896b-e3d4-45ba-9319-14104d400069 984d3230-b916-4aed-acc1-5522085d24b1
Microsoft 365 Business Voice (without Calling Plan) for US 9b05d0b7-cfb4-42f1-9cc3-f698dba2838e 39d77d0f-eb8f-4ebc-b618-692e1cc59c8f
Microsoft 365 Business Voice (without Calling Plan) for RoW 4ba4d580-4902-42b0-8411-a27358dd5405 cc69a07c-8c51-457f-bb2a-f21a62d6bede

These promotions affect the following customers:

  • Net new customer tenants

  • Existing customer tenants who don't have active or recently canceled (within the last 30 days) subscriptions on any Business Voice or Audio Conferencing license on CSP, Web Direct, or any other Microsoft commercial channels

Additional resources

Next steps

  • Familiarize yourself with these meeting and calling promo opportunities and share this information with all appropriate contacts in your organization.

  • Incorporate these offers into your Microsoft 365 sales promotions.

  • Drive awareness with customers about the value of adding Business Voice or Audio Conferencing to Teams.

Questions?

For questions about these offers, contact your representative in the Microsoft account team or support.

Perpetual software price list corrected and republished

Categories

  • Date: 2021-06-04
  • Offers/Markets

Summary

The perpetual software price list published on June 1, 2021 was republished on June 3 to correct a few issues.

Impacted audience

Indirect providers and direct bill partners transacting perpetual software in the Cloud Solution Provider program.

Details

  1. Incorrect pricing in some currencies.

    • Some products in Russian Ruble (RUB) and South Korean Won (KRW) had incorrect pricing from April 27, 2021 to June 3, 2021. These products had incorrect prices that have been corrected in the current perpetual pricing sheets.

      • Windows Server family of products
      • SQL products
      • Office products

    • The price issues were detected early enough to ensure partners will be invoiced the correct amounts if they were overcharged for any purchases since the incorrect pricing was posted. Impacted partners will see an invoice correction credit on their invoice.

      • Partners will be invoiced the May amounts if they are lower than the June 3 amounts.
      • Partners will be invoiced the June 3 posted amounts if lower than May.

  2. The SKUID for product Project Server 2019 Device CAL was corrected from 0001 to 0003.

  3. Extra tab in the worksheet entitled “Sheet1(2)” was removed.

Next steps

  • Partners who transact perpetual software services should download the latest price list to see the corrected prices.

Corrections to July license-based services price list preview

Categories

  • Date: 2021-06-04
  • Offers/Markets

Summary

Office 365 E1 nonprofit offers were incorrectly flagged as DEL (deletes) in the July preview price list. An updated preview price list was published on June 4, 2021 rectifying the typo.

Impacted audience

Indirect providers and direct bill partners transacting license-based services in the Cloud Solution Provider program.

Details

The July preview price list for license-based services posted on June 1, 2021 included a typo for the Office 365 E1 nonprofit offers. The price list incorrectly flagged the following offers as DEL (deletes). The license-based services price list was updated on June 4, 2021 at 11am PST with the corrections. These corrections were only applicable to:

  • Offer Name: Office 365 E1 (Nonprofit Staff Pricing)

  • Offer ID: 83dca3b9-3d6c-4547-8c5f-ba1f69b130f8

  • Offer Name: Office 365 E1 (Nonprofit Staff Pricing) - Volunteer

  • Offer ID: f94de68e-f907-471f-b8d3-37ebacbe8ff6

  • Currencies: All

  • Before: Incorrectly flagged as DEL on the preview price list

  • After: Shown as UNC on the preview price list

This was a price list preview correction only having no impact on invoicing.

Next steps

  • Partners who transact license-based services should download the latest price list.

Additional columns for richer information in Azure usage reports

Categories

  • Date: 2021-06-02
  • Capabilities

Summary

Microsoft is adding extra columns to provide a richer experience to users for internal reporting and reconciliation.

Impacted audience

Partner organizations in the Microsoft Partner Network (applies only to users with Executive Report Viewer role)

Details

Microsoft is adding the following columns to the existing Azure usage report, which is available in the Download report section of Partner Center Insights.

New column name Data description
Service level 1 Service level 1 – Additional detail for type of service
Service level 2 Service level 2 - Additional detail for type of service
Service level 3 Service level 3 - Additional detail for type of service
Service level 4 Service level 4 - Additional detail for type of service
Service group 2 Service group 2 - Additional detail for service group
Service group 3 Service group 3 - Additional detail for service group
Service influencer Service influencer
Compute OS Operating system for the compute
Compute core software Compute core software
Association type Type of association
Admin type Type of admin

These additional details will give partners detailed insight of the Azure usage, assist with reconciliation, and help in understanding the qualifying records for any advanced specialization.

Next steps

Share this information with the relevant members of your organization.

View this month’s product launches and offers

Categories

  • Date: 2021-06-01
  • Capabilities

Summary

The June 2021 product launch calendar is now published.

Impacted audience

All partners transacting through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program

Details

The June 2021 product launch calendar is now available in the Operations readiness resource gallery. View the upcoming product launches and offers here.

Next steps

Review the product launch calendar, and share the information with the appropriate stakeholders in your organization.

Questions?

For any further questions about these offers, check your relevant Yammer communities.