via makeuseof.com

From March 2022, Microsoft 365 will be more expensive for its commercial users. Let’s explore why Microsoft is doing this.

Since launching more than 10 years ago, Microsoft 365 has brought us products that have become a part of our work lives over the years, along with new additions that we can’t imagine working without.

In a March 2022 update, Microsoft will increase the price of Microsoft 365 for its business customers so that it can continue to add value to the way you work.

Microsoft 365’s New Pricing
Microsoft has announced updates to its pricing for Microsoft 365, which will affect commercial users of this software as a service (SaaS) offering.

On March 1, 2022, Microsoft will update its pricing for some of its commercial products.

This will be the first major pricing update on Microsoft 365 in 10 years and will affect both annual and multi-year pricing. At the time of writing, Microsoft is not increasing prices for education and consumer products.

Why Microsoft 365 Is Getting More Expensive
In a blog post, Microsoft says that this price rise “reflects the increased value we have delivered to our customers over the past 10 years”.

In short, over the past decade, Microsoft has added several apps to Microsoft 365 and Office 365 across three key areas—communications and collaboration, security and compliance, as well as AI and automation. These include Teams, Power BI, and OneDrive, as well as some security features and automation capabilities.

The increasing demand for hybrid work also puts companies like Microsoft at an advantage. Microsoft hopes to benefit from this increasing demand as organizations worldwide continue to utilize Microsoft 365 to stay connected and foster as normal a working environment as possible.

As stated by Microsoft in the same blog post:

As leaders around the world look to empower their people for a more flexible, hybrid world of work, it’s clear that every organization will need a new operating model across people, places, and processes. We’re committed to building on the value we’ve delivered over the past decade to continuously provide innovation that helps our customers succeed and thrive today and well into the future.

Along with the price increase for Microsoft 365, Microsoft has also announced that it will be extending its unlimited dial-in capabilities for Microsoft Teams meetings for all enterprise, business, frontline, and government suites.

Dial-in is currently included with Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5, and Microsoft will add this to subscriptions in more than 70 countries, with interactive support in 44 languages and dialects.

Extended dial-in capabilities come in handy when people join Teams meetings while they are on the go, as is typically the case with remote work. This allows you to join a Teams meeting from any device, and from any location, for a seamless Teams experience—which is what has been missing from Teams.

Will You Continue to Use Microsoft 365?
Microsoft 365 is getting more expensive, but not without reason. Microsoft’s wealth of additions and improvements—past, present, and future—might justify this price increase for most business customers.

If you are worried about how the new pricing changes will affect you, contact GSC IT Solutions today to review your Microsoft 365 needs and find a way forward.