August 2021 announcements

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

Privacy Management for Microsoft 365 launch is delayed

Summary

The Privacy Management for Microsoft 365 launch plan has changed. We're working on finalizing a new launch date and will communicate that soon.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-31
  • Capabilities

Impacted audience

Partners in the Volume Licensing program

Details

The Privacy Management for Microsoft 365 launch scheduled for September 1, 2021, has been delayed. The SKUs shared on the price list preview won't be available for order at this time.

The impacted SKUs included on the price list preview are:

Offer name Offer ID Material ID
Privacy Management - risk a263eccc-1661-404a-bfbf-b0460d8fb1e1 INI-00009
Privacy Management - risk for EDU 9d015e78-15bc-430e-a104-73b85e9f64d6 INL-00003
Privacy Management - subject rights request (1) cc87ffcf-0d3b-4df0-b921-4f3fa0b5ecaa INH-00002
Privacy Management - subject rights request (1) for EDU 041a6bc1-ceff-4027-b712-cc2c12146743 INK-00002
Privacy Management - subject rights request (10) 040b7913-9c0b-4ebd-b4a5-e09d577e7f93 IRC-00002
Privacy Management - subject rights request (10) for EDU 6e1dc669-fdce-43c6-b41f-826d414d6a8e IRF-00002
Privacy Management - subject rights request (100) 14179899-f91c-44f5-8e9a-3911ed0865eb IRD-00002
Privacy Management - subject rights request (100) for EDU d6d48446-83e9-4ed1-ace2-5a588b5b7038 IRG-00002

Next steps

Review the resources about this topic and share with the appropriate stakeholders in your organization.

Questions?

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

Announcing Windows Server 2022 general availability in October

Summary

Windows Server 2022 delivers enhancements in security, hybrid, and containers. Learn about the new release in this announcement.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-26
  • Capabilities

Impacted audience

Direct providers, indirect providers, and indirect resellers

Details

Windows Server 2022, the next Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release, enables customers to run existing and new business critical applications with confidence on Azure, on-premises, and at the edge.

Windows Server 2022 introduces advanced multi-layer security, hybrid capabilities with Azure, and a flexible application platform. As part of this general availability, we’re bringing secured-core capabilities to Windows Server to secure systems that will run workloads on Windows Server 2022. A secured-core server builds on technologies such as Windows Defender System Guard and virtualization-based security to minimize risk from firmware vulnerabilities and advanced malware. The new release also provides secure connectivity, introducing several new capabilities such as faster and more secure encrypted HTTPS connections and industry-standard SMB AES 256 encryption.

Windows Server 2022 improves hybrid server management with significantly improved virtual machine management, an enhanced event viewer, and many more new capabilities in the Windows Admin Center. Furthermore, this release includes significant improvements to Windows container, such as smaller image size for faster download, simplified network policy implementation, and containerization tools for .NET applications.

Additional resources

To learn more, refer to the following:

Frequently asked questions

Q. When will Windows Server 2022 be available in Cloud Solution Provider (CSP)?

Windows Server 2022 will be available in CSP in October.

Q. How much will Window Server 2022 cost?

To learn about pricing for Windows Server 2022, see CSP pricing (available in October).

Q. Are there any changes to the licensing model for Windows Server 2022?

There are no changes to the licensing model for Windows Server 2022 Standard and Datacenter editions.

Q. How can customers evaluate Windows Server 2022?

Customers can currently evaluate Windows Server 2022 in the Windows Server Evaluation Center. They have the option to either try it on Azure or download the ISO or VHD.

Questions?

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

Seat-based offers for integrated sandbox testing in the new commerce experience

Summary

Effective September 1, 2021, Microsoft will enable seat-based offers for integrated sandbox testing in the new commerce experience for the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-25
  • Capabilities

Impacted audience

CSP direct bill partners and indirect providers, including resellers through their indirect providers

Details

Effective September 1, 2021, Microsoft will enable seat-based offers for integrated sandbox testing in the new commerce experience for the CSP program.

The addition of Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Windows 365 offers in CSP to the new commerce experience is another major milestone in our new commerce journey. Microsoft is investing in product innovations, better tooling, and access to new business opportunities that enable partners to grow their CSP revenue and provide more options to customers. We’re evolving our commerce platform and streamlining the ordering and subscription management processes to help partners and customers succeed in digital transformation.

Partners who participate in the sandbox testing environment will have early visibility into the new commerce experience for seat-based offers, allowing advanced planning, operationalization, and technical integration for these offers.

Participating in the sandbox environment enables your organization to:

  • Perform API integration in a testing environment before deploying in production.
  • Have adequate time to operationalize the new commerce experience prior to launch.

The list provides a summary of the key features that are available in the integrated sandbox testing environment:

  • Support for Partner/Customer delegated admin privilege (DAP) for new commerce purchases
  • Support for all partner types: Direct Bill, Indirect Provider and Indirect Reseller motions
  • Discovery and purchase of new commerce products and SKUs, including side-by-side discovery of traditional license-based and new commerce product SKUs
  • Ability to manage subscription properties including auto-renew toggle and increasing seat counts
  • Purchasing Add-ons from the catalog, alongside base subscriptions
  • Support for multi-year terms with annual billing plans for some products
  • Support for annual, monthly and onetime payment billing plans
  • Subscription life cycle management supporting the grace period
  • Terms enforcement cancelation policies
  • Limits for small business SKU seat counts
  • Support for new commerce seat based transactions in invoice and recon files
  • Midterm full-quantity SKU upgrades
  • Scheduled changes at renewal
  • Suspend (pause) and resume services for a subscription
  • Free trials
  • Billing to partner's billing currency
  • Price transparency
  • Auto-seat reassignment for full quantity SKU transitions

Some features planned for the general release aren't yet available in integrated sandbox environment/technical preview. These features are currently under development and will be made available soon. Once the features are available, the operations guide and associated documentation will be updated.

  • Price list preview and support for European regional customer currencies
  • Telco offers enabling pay as you go overage
  • Promotions support including new APIs
  • Add-on enforcement
  • Extension of cancellation window from 24 to 72 hours (with proration)
  • Migration capabilities from traditional subscriptions to new commerce, including API support
  • Switching billing plans mid-term without resetting the existing term
  • Converting mid-term trials or paid SKUs with different quantities, terms and billing plans and upgraded SKUs
  • Partial seat upgrades to one target subscription

Next steps

Review the resources about this topic, and share the information with the appropriate stakeholders in your organization:

  • The CSP operations guide for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Windows 365 in the new commerce experience will be available to review in the Operations Readiness gallery on September 1, 2021.
  • Review the resources outlined in the helpful Readiness Map.
  • Review the API documentation folder.

No action is required if your organization has provisioned an integrated sandbox environment. However, if your organization doesn’t have an integrated sandbox environment, follow these steps to create one.

For support, post to the conversations on the Partner Center SDK and API Yammer group or log a support ticket.

Questions?

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

Invoice structure update for the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada

Summary

Modern invoice structure updates will apply as of August 29, 2021 for the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-24
  • Grow Your Business

Impacted audience

Partners transacting in the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada

Details

As of August 29, 2021, the following updates will be made to the modern invoices of partners transacting in the CSP program in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

US, Puerto Rico, and Canada

Invoice line-item amounts will no longer include the tax amount. Instead, the tax will be separately stated in the invoice, unless otherwise noted.

Puerto Rico only

“Sales tax” will no longer be displayed in the Billing Summary section of invoices. Instead, tax will be broken down into two levels:

  1. Commonwealth tax (where JurisdictionLevel = TERRITORY)
  2. Municipal tax (where JurisdictionLevel = COUNTY)

Canada only

The Billing Summary section will display tax with two separate labels—"GST/HST” and “PST/QS”—even when the tax amount is zero.

Next steps

Invoices created after August 29, 2021 will reflect the updates. Partners in these locations should be aware of the changes and notify the appropriate people in their organization.

Questions?

For questions about these offers, check your relevant Microsoft Partner Connect communities.

Now live: New commerce experience in CSP for Azure expanding to Government Community Cloud (GCC)

Summary

The new commerce experience in the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program for Azure is now available to all GCC partners.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-24
  • Capabilities

Impacted audience

GCC partners transacting through the CSP program

Details

We’re excited to announce the availability of the new commerce experience in CSP for Azure to all GCC partners. This experience will streamline and improve the way customers buy and consume Azure services. It will also give partners in the CSP program a consistent view of Azure pricing across sales motions, US dollar pricing for global consistency, billing date alignment, and access to Azure Cost Management. We also have a functionality in Partner Center that helps CSP partners move customers from existing CSP Azure offers to Azure services under the Azure plan.

Next steps

There are several resources available that introduce the new Azure commerce experience and provide additional information. Find the latest FAQs, decks, videos, and more in the CSP program updates resource gallery.

Change log

  • July 26, 2021 — Original announcement
  • August 24, 2021 — Offer now live for GCC partners

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

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 now live.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-23
  • Capabilities

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 excited to share that phase 2 of this transition experience is now live. Phase 2 will be rolled out to partners in batches, which means that there will be differences in the exact start dates of phase 2 transition across partner organizations. We’ve reached out to partners directly with more information on their transition date.

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

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.

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.

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 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 payouts will be in the same currency as the partner’s invoice currency.
  • Partners will notice reduced billing complexity caused by multicurrency invoicing, freeing 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 2021: Original announcement
  • June 2021:
    • Transition date postponed from mid-July to mid-August
    • Phase 2 transition details documented in a partner guide
  • August 23, 2021:
    • Phase 2 now live and will be rolled out to partners in batches during the week of August 23, 2021.

New commerce experience for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Windows 365 seat-based for breadth motion

Summary

In October 2021, Microsoft will bring seat-based cloud offers to the new commerce experience for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform, as well as Windows 365.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-19
  • Capabilities

Impacted audience

CSP direct bill partners and indirect providers, and resellers through their indirect providers

Details

Microsoft is on a transformational journey with its commerce experience — a multistage, multiyear investment. The new commerce experience for the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program is built on the foundational capabilities that made CSP the go-to motion for partners that sell value-add cloud solutions. With new commerce, partners can provide unique service offerings for customers regardless of how customers buy, enabling them to digitally transform. And partners can expand their businesses with continuous selling and managed services while reducing costs.

Each phase of the new commerce journey brings new opportunities, offers, features, and benefits. It started with the new commerce experience for CSP two years ago with Microsoft Azure (the first Microsoft offering introduced on the new commerce platform), followed by Azure Reserved Instances and, most recently, perpetual software offers.

With the next phase in October 2021, we will bring seat-based cloud offers to the new commerce experience for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform, as well as Windows 365.

Moving to the new commerce experience helps partners strategically position their business for future growth by building broader and more sustainable revenue streams in CSP with less licensing complexity and cost. The October launch provides partners in the CSP program with new sales capabilities, delivers operational efficiencies, and drives long-term customer commitment with multiple term options.

Selling Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform in the new commerce experience

With new commerce, partners can address the spectrum of customer scenarios. They can also lock in subscription pricing in advance of the recently announced price increases for Modern Workplace. Partners get better revenue predictability (and price predictability for customers) by selling annual or multiyear term offers. Among the benefits of the new commerce experience in CSP:

  • Easier adoption of new products such as Viva Insights, including streamlined trial conversions and add-ons available separately in the CSP catalog.
  • Three-year terms for Microsoft 365 exclusively in new commerce in March 2022.
  • New offers for Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 exclusive to new commerce.
  • Three-year term offers for Dynamics 365, similar to the existing experience in CSP.
  • New monthly-term offers with a price premium for customers who need term and seat-count flexibility.
  • Annual term offers with competitive pricing for stable, long-term customers.
  • The option to blend short- and long-term offers for customers with seasonal or business-volume fluctuations.
  • Consistent cancellation policies for seat-based offer terms in new commerce (limited to the first 72 hours of the term with prorated refund.)
  • A new set of communications offers (currently planned for October) that provide telco service consumption billed in arrears, as a precursor to rolling out this option for other new offer types in later releases.
  • Tooling that streamlines the transition of existing subscriptions to new commerce.
  • Easier processing of subscription and billing data and enhanced subscription-management capabilities.
  • Subscription ownership enforcement that prevents multiple purchases of free trials and small-to-medium business (SMB) offers from different partners.

To help partners prepare for October general availability, Microsoft will add the new commerce functionalities and offer catalog to the CSP sandbox tenants (with accompanying documentation) starting on September 1 so that direct bill and indirect provider partners can begin testing and integrating new commerce with their platforms via APIs. Partners will be able to transact with customers in new commerce starting with the October GA.

Selling Windows 365 in the new commerce experience

Windows 365, announced in July 2021 and launched as a product in August 2021, is the world's first cloud PC for every organization, securely streaming the Windows experience, including desktop, apps, processing power, storage, and more, to any customer device.* The cloud PC experience can scale to fit customers’ needs and is easy to deploy without the need for virtualized desktop infrastructure (VDI) expertise.

(*Internet access required, fees may apply. See the Windows 365 FAQ for a list of supported devices.)

Windows 365 will be available in the new commerce experience for the enterprise purchasing motion in September 2021 (review the Licensing for Windows 365 L100 deck to learn more, and additional details which will be posted at Licensing is evolving in mid-September) and in CSP in October 2021. The new commerce experience in CSP will offer Windows 365 only through the new monthly term offer, which will enable customers to experience this new product with no long-term commitment and to adjust the number of users monthly with per-user pricing. Lastly, new Windows 365 features and future enhancements will only be made available on the new commerce breadth offer in CSP.

Transitioning to the new commerce experience

Microsoft is launching two introductory promotions for CSP direct bill partners and indirect providers between October 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022, designed to motivate partners and customers to move existing business and place new orders on new commerce.

Note

These promotions do not apply to Windows 365 in new commerce.

Partners can take a phased approach to adopting new commerce and can continue selling in the previous CSP platform until March 2022. Key upcoming milestones (subject to change):

  • March 2022: New subscription orders and renewals will only be possible on the new commerce experience.
  • October 2022: Microsoft incentives are available only for transactions in the new commerce experience.
  • February 2023: All remaining subscriptions on the previous experience must be moved to new commerce because they can’t be renewed on the previous CSP experience.

The timeline above provides time for partners to understand and operationalize the new commerce experience enhancements and migrate remaining business from the previous experience.

Future capabilities for new commerce in CSP

In 2022, additional features and new offers will launch exclusive to new commerce. For example, current plans for Microsoft 365 (subject to change) include three-year term offers, hybrid use benefits (HUB), home use program (HUP), and multi-geo add-ons. Partners will also be able to align term end dates of new and existing subscriptions.

These new features enable Microsoft to bring some popular capabilities and offer types from other licensing programs to new commerce and to deliver an end-to-end set of features, rounding out the suite of Microsoft cloud offers in new commerce.

Seat-based offers in new commerce won't be available in Brazil until February 2022.

For more information on New Commerce Experience for CSP Seat-Based Offers, access the OPS Readiness Collection.

Next steps

Review the resources about this topic, and share with the appropriate stakeholders in your organization.

Questions?

For further questions about these offers, check your relevant Microsoft Partner Community.

Update to our commercial pricing for Microsoft 365

Summary

On August 19, 2021, Microsoft announced an update to our commercial pricing for Microsoft 365 that will go into effect on March 1, 2022.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-19
  • Capabilities

Impacted audience

Cloud Solution Provider partners

Details

On Thursday, August 19, 2021, we announced an update to our commercial pricing for Microsoft 365, the first substantive update since Office 365 was released in June 2011. This change will go into effect on March 1, 2022, providing customers with about six months of advance notification. It will include:

  • Enterprise: Microsoft 365 E3 ($32 to $36 per user), Office 365 E5 ($35 to $38), Office365 E3 ($20 to $23), and Office 365 E1 ($8 to $10)
  • Small Medium Business (SMB): Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($5 to $6 per user), and Business Premium ($20 to $22)

Changes to pricing for US government cloud customers will be phased in over several years in line with existing requirements. There’s no price change at this time for education or consumer products.

This price update builds on the product innovation that we’ve delivered over the past 10 years to meet the changing needs of customers. Since initial release, we’ve added 25 new apps and over 1,400 features. This includes the introduction of Microsoft Teams as the only solution with meetings, chats, calls, collaboration, and the ability to automate business processes. We’ve added capabilities like data loss prevention (DLP) for documents and emails, Office messaging encryption, and attack surface reduction capabilities. And we have added new AI-supported capabilities that help automate tasks, find the information that we need, and help us communicate in ways that are more accessible for everyone.

We also announced the extension of unlimited dial-in across our paid enterprise, business, frontline, and government suites, enabling users to dial in and join a Teams meeting from virtually any device. The change will affect:

  • Enterprise: Microsoft 365 E3, Office 365 E3, and Office 365 E1
  • Government (GCC, GCCH, and DOD): Microsoft 365 E3, Office 365 E3, Office 365 E1, Microsoft 365 F3, and Microsoft 365 F1
  • Frontline: Microsoft 365 F3, Microsoft 365 F1, and Office 365 F3
  • SMB: Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, and Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Currently included with Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5, we've come to see dial-in as an important part of the complete Teams experience. This change will be effective in March 2022.

To be clear, we’re not increasing our prices because of this change. Extending dial-in capabilities across the SKUs is simply the latest example of how we regularly deliver new value to support the changing needs of our customers.

We believe that this is the right time to update our pricing, based on the signs of economic recovery that we’re seeing around the world and the price increases that we’ve seen from other vendors in the market in the past few years. We have a strong value proposition and a proven track record of consistently delivering new value to our customers.

For you, our partners, these changes provide opportunity. We want to make it more economically transparent that E5 represents the best value. The new pricing will reduce the step up from Microsoft 365 E3 to E5. In parallel, the changes to Audio Conferencing capabilities are intended to further support the case for vendor consolidation.

Next steps

  • Read the blog post: New pricing for Microsoft 365
  • Ensure that your customers are aware of the first substantive update to the Microsoft 365 price list and are taking them into account as they plan future spend. Help customers evaluate if this is the right time to step up to Microsoft 365 E5 or to consolidate on Microsoft solutions.
  • Use the customer facing deck to emphasize the value added over the past decade and the six months of notification.
  • Use the FAQ to answer customer questions.

For more information on these upcoming changes, visit the Operations Readiness gallery at Update to our commercial pricing for Microsoft 365.

Questions?

If you have questions, contact your Regional Operations Center using the Call Logging Tool (CLT) at clt.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/CLT or via explore.ms. Follow the standard CLT process closely so that we can resolve your query as quickly as possible.

August Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) community update and reminders

Summary

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

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-16
  • Capabilities

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:

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 and review the Q&A document that was published after the June event.

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

Get Genuine Windows Agreement (GGWA) offers in the Cloud Solution Provider program temporarily unavailable

Summary

GGWA offers transacted via the CSP program are temporarily unavailable. Until further notice, partners should continue to transact GGWA through the Open License program.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-16
  • Grow Your Business

Impacted Audience

All partners transacting GGWA offers via CSP

Details

Software keys for Get Genuine Windows Agreement (GGWA) offers transacted in CSP are unavailable, therefore effective immediately, Microsoft is temporarily removing these offers from the CSP program. GGWA offers will be visible on the CSP price list until September 1, 2021, but can’t be ordered in the catalog/Partner Center.

While we work to resolve, partners are advised to transact GGWA offers via the Open License program. Further notice will be provided once a fix has been applied, expected before December 31, 2021.

Note

The GGWA offer is used to help a customer resolve a mis-licensing situation. GGWA SKUs can only be ordered following a Microsoft compliance audit. For more information, see the Microsoft Product Terms.

Next steps

For partners who have transacted the GGWA offers in CSP, return these licenses within 30 days of the purchase date for a refund. You may complete this task in Partner Center following the guidance at Sell software subscriptions through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program. For returns of purchases after more than 30 days, partners can open a ticket in Partner Center by selecting CSP, Transact and Manage, Return or refund software.

Transact all new or replacement GGWA orders through the Open License program until further notice.

Share this update with your internal teams as needed.

Questions?

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

View the latest promotions and offers

Summary

The latest Global Promo Readiness Guide has now been published.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-10
  • Offers & Markets

Impacted audience

Partners transacting through the Cloud Solution Provider 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 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.

Compliance monitoring through the Partner Accountability Management (PAM) team

Summary

The PAM team enhances our compliance monitoring programs and helps the partner ecosystem to foster and maintain a culture of ethics and trust.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-09
  • Capabilities

Impacted audience

Partners transacting with Microsoft worldwide

Details

As partners, our mutual commitment to building and maintaining trust means doing business the right way. The highest standards of conduct are key for retaining partners and customers and are necessary to drive value for Microsoft, our partners, and all our stakeholders.

To foster and maintain a culture of compliance and trust, Microsoft established compliance monitoring through the PAM team almost two years ago. The PAM team consolidates monitoring efforts and drives timely resolutions for identified areas of noncompliant behavior in our partner ecosystem, with the aim of improving the channel for all. Based on our contractual obligations, Microsoft can impose penalties and course-correcting initiatives for compliance infractions.

We’ve created an FAQ document to help partners understand how PAM operates and the key areas of clarity where we get most questions. You can find more information at Understanding partner compliance (microsoft.com) and register for on-demand training.

As a reminder to all our partners, suppliers, and other representatives worldwide, it’s mandatory to comply with our Anti-Corruption Policy for Microsoft Representatives, our Partner Code of Conduct, and the terms and conditions of our agreements.

Next steps

Familiarize yourself with the PAM FAQ, take the on-demand training, and share this information with all relevant teams within your organization.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the PAM team, reach out to your representative in the Microsoft account team.

Windows 365 now available for purchase: Hybrid Windows for a hybrid world

Summary

Microsoft is bringing Windows to the cloud with Windows 365.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-09
  • Offers & Markets

Impacted audience

Partners transacting through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program

Details

Microsoft is excited to announce that Windows 365 is now available for customers to purchase. Windows 365 is a cloud service that delivers a new way to experience Windows 10 or Windows 11, streaming your personalized apps, settings, and content from the Microsoft cloud to any device.

Welcome to your Windows 365 Cloud PC:

  • Streamed across devices: You can boot instantly to your Cloud PC, streaming your Windows experience to any of your devices.

  • Always ready and updated: Streamed from the cloud and traveling with you, Windows 365 is always ready and always updated, wherever you are, on whatever device that you want to work on. It’s a simple and versatile Windows experience delivered by the Microsoft cloud.

  • Personal and familiar: Windows 365 is personalized and familiar with all your settings and content, so when you go back into your Cloud PC, it’s right where you left it.

  • Scalable and resilient: Windows 365 is secure by design, using the power of the cloud and the principles of Zero Trust. Information is secured and stored in the cloud and not on the device.

  • Predictable costs: Windows 365 makes purchasing Cloud PCs predictable with per-user per-month pricing.

  • Simple to buy, deploy, and manage: Windows 365 simplifies procurement, deployment, management, and updates because unlike other solutions, it uses virtualization behind the scenes.

Windows 365 is available for customers to purchase through windows365.com, the Enterprise Agreement, or the CSP program.

Update on Windows 365 trials

Due to significant demand, we have reached capacity for Windows 365 trials, so are pausing new trials. Customers can sign up to receive a notification when trial subscriptions resume, or buy Windows 365 today at Welcome to your Windows 365 Cloud PC.

In the meantime, partners looking to understand the service can continue to use the click-through demo.

Next steps

Questions?

For further questions about this offers, check your relevant Microsoft partner communities.

Change log

  • July 20, 2021: Announcing new Windows 365
  • August 2, 2021: Windows 365 now available for customers to purchase
  • August 9, 2021: Update on Windows 365 trials

Upcoming changes to Azure plan price lists for new commerce experience

Summary

We're making some updates to the Azure plan Partner Center price lists to ensure the items in the price list are in sync with what is available for purchase in Partner Center.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-04
  • Offers/Markets

Impacted audience

Indirect providers and direct bill partners transacting Azure plan in the Cloud Solution Provider program within the new commerce experience.

Details

Partners may have observed differences between the Reservation Instances (RIs) available to purchase from within Partner Center and the RIs in the Azure plan reservations price lists. Historically, the Azure plan reservations price lists has incorrectly included:

  1. Items that may only be available in the Azure portal
  2. Azure products that weren't reservations

We're making some updates to the Azure plan Partner Center price lists to ensure the items in the price list are in sync with what is available for purchase in Partner Center. This should be addressed starting September 2, 2021. These changes are only applicable to new commerce Azure plan reservations price lists.

From September onward, if an RI is available to be transacted in Partner Center, then it will be available in the price lists. For other RIs, partner should go to Azure portal directly to review pricing and make purchases.

Next steps

  • Partners should download Azure plan pricing to see the RIs available via Partner Center.
  • Partners who transact new commerce Azure plan should refer to Azure Services in CSP Pricing Calculator to get pricing information for RIs that are unavailable for purchase within Partner Center.

CSP for Azure new commerce experience expands to the Vatican

Summary

Microsoft launched the new commerce experience in the CSP program for Azure in the Vatican on July 22, 2021.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-03
  • Capabilities

Impacted audience

Partners in the Vatican transacting through the CSP program

Details

On July 22, 2021, Microsoft launched the new commerce experience in the CSP program for Azure in the Vatican. This experience will streamline and improve the way customers buy and consume Azure services. It will also give partners in the CSP program a consistent view of Azure pricing across sales motions, US dollar pricing for global consistency, billing date alignment, and access to Azure Cost Management. To learn more, partners should review the materials posted on the partner resources gallery.

Next steps

There are several resources available introducing the new Azure commerce experience and providing additional information. Find the latest FAQ, decks, videos, and more on the CSP program updates resource gallery.

Programmatic access to Partner Insights analytics data

Summary

Partners can now access the Partner Insights analytics data through an API.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-03
  • Capabilities

Impacted audience

Partners transacting through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program

Details

Partners in Partner Center Insights can have access to the data either through the user interface or through the downloadable reports. With programmatic access, partners will have the flexibility to consume the data using existing tools, and prepare a custom dashboard for users or employees within the organization.

Salient features include:

  • Creating custom queries as per your business needs.
  • Scheduling the report at the desired time and interval.
  • Writing custom queries with selected columns and filters on the data.
  • Scheduling recurring queries.
  • Ability to download reports from a secure location.

The key value of programmatic access of Partner Insights analytics data is integration with internal BI systems and platforms for creating customized reporting.

Next steps

Review this guide to get started using programmatic access to Partner Insights analytics data.

Our engineering team will be hosting training sessions on this topic at the end of this month. The session is aimed at our partners' technical teams and will be recorded to watch on demand.

Questions?

For questions about these offers, check your relevant Microsoft Partner communities.

Offer attestation required for some Windows 365 offers

Summary

Some newly available Windows 365 offers coming in August 2021 will require special attestation prior to purchasing.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-01
  • Offers/Markets

Impacted audience

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

Details

Some newly available Windows 365 offers will require the partner to attest that their users have existing copies of Windows 10/11 Pro installed on their primary work devices. This attestation is only required for Windows 365 Business offers with Windows Hybrid Benefit. When purchasing these offers, partners will see the following text on the review screen:

I understand that each person using Windows 365 Business with Windows Hybrid Benefit also needs to have a valid copy of Windows 10/11 Pro installed on their primary work device.

Partners must agree to this before purchasing.

Attestation applies both to the Partner Center portal as well as the Partner Center APIs when submitting orders and checking out carts. Partners can determine which offers require attestation by checking the AttestationProperties on the offer or sku objects. These properties will explain the attestation type and if the attestation is enforced for purchases.

Below are offers that currently require attestation prior to purchasing.

Offer name Offer ID
Windows 365 Business 1 vCPU, 2 GB, 64 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) 5f3a7cd2-c76f-4b21-9ddc-f48f09869cf6
Windows 365 Business 2 vCPU, 4 GB, 128 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) 7612386a-d98d-4110-94b8-554bd612a5ab
Windows 365 Business 2 vCPU, 4 GB, 128 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) Trial ab170880-1254-4534-abb9-fd0bf60cde71
Windows 365 Business 2 vCPU, 4 GB, 256 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) cc624387-162c-4f31-9d6e-252d39d5324b
Windows 365 Business 2 vCPU, 4 GB, 64 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) f9777f60-19ae-4bd2-b881-6dc674564a2e
Windows 365 Business 2 vCPU, 8 GB, 128 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) 39daa752-18b7-4918-b4eb-cf27cf617ee2
Windows 365 Business 2 vCPU, 8 GB, 128 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) Trial d5623401-b8e0-429f-86df-29b6efdf4d95
Windows 365 Business 2 vCPU, 8 GB, 256 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) 8fe4271f-c761-45f8-8261-5ab575195152
Windows 365 Business 4 vCPU, 16 GB, 128 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) 037cff0f-c231-4cce-a7ef-5324c755ba9a
Windows 365 Business 4 vCPU, 16 GB, 128 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) Trial 46448c4c-8b12-4ea1-9be7-76b35d69bcf5
Windows 365 Business 4 vCPU, 16 GB, 256 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) 977318cf-57a5-4c3f-a8b6-aa58853dd2e9
Windows 365 Business 4 vCPU, 16 GB, 512 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) 1a3bdfb8-fb09-4331-8303-2c07e895c6d9
Windows 365 Business 8 vCPU, 32 GB, 128 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) 1b96db48-9c02-4c95-8c0b-98e4e6aa187c
Windows 365 Business 8 vCPU, 32 GB, 256 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) 3ff72e53-c37f-41d5-b932-793cb39c837b
Windows 365 Business 8 vCPU, 32 GB, 512 GB (with Windows Hybrid Benefit) aca639ae-ae81-4298-a76a-094b6880913b

Next steps

Review more information in the Pricing and offers how-to topic.

View this month’s product launches and offers

Summary

The August 2021 product launch calendar is now published.

Categories

  • Date: 2021-08-01
  • Capabilities

Impacted audience

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

Details

The August 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.