Is more transparency needed?

As I look forward to attending Microsoft Ignite (online) in a few weeks time, where we are sure to hear about more new products and developments from Microsoft, I’ve also noticed something that has started to annoy me over the past weeks and maybe even months.

Microsoft seems to release changes to products and/or licensing models without announcing them. Have you noticed this too? Or I am just not seeing the announcements? (I am usually quite sharp when it comes to keeping an eye on updates).

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Today I want to discuss two of these changes as I think they might have (had) a big effect on you as a Microsoft customer:

1. End of support for older Office versions (2016 and 2019) in combination with M365 Services. I found out about this through a LinkedIn post by a Microsoft employee.
2. Removal of Extended Security Updates from the public pricelist, only to learn Microsoft has made these off-pricelist (lead-status) and rather has customers use the Azure Arc service route (if moving to Azure isn’t an option)
3. Inclusion/exclusion of M365 Copilot in CSP. It was stated that this is for Enterprise only, though there still is a little sparkle of hope that this might be available for smaller organizations as well. Unclear, because Microsoft communications initially stated no, but a later updated announcement seemed to create an opening. Today this is still not 100% clear, but it seems that it is only for Enterprise customers, and Microsoft just wanted to add certain language that makes it easier for them in the near future to add this to CSP.

Need for transparency

Microsoft's recent changes are not necessarily bad, as they prompt you to assess your software lifecycle and the need to potentially update to newer versions. This is always a good idea, if you ask me. They also encourage you to reassess your Microsoft strategy, is it still right for you? However, shouldn't a strategic partner be more outspoken about these topics, or at least inform you earlier?

You may think that Microsoft's recent changes to their terms and conditions are not a big deal, but what if they start making similar changes more often, especially as they continue to push AI? You could suddenly find yourself with a significant problem, such as a product that is no longer compliant with your company's policies or a product that you are no longer allowed to use.

The point I want to make is, that as Microsoft is increasingly present within organizations, it should improve its transparency to allow for easier insights into potential large changes.

Now, as for the three changes listed above, I want to go through these in more detail, as they might impact your organization.

Azure Arc for Extended Security Updates

In my opinion, changing the purchase of Extended Security Updates to Azure Arc is a good thing! You are able to enroll your Servers in Azure and choose a model that fits your needs best: vCore or pCore. You can license based on Virtual Machines (VM) or Physical Servers.?

You simply enroll the Machines or Servers that have 2012(R2) installed and make sure that you cover these with the Windows Server or SQL Server Standard ESU, even if they are Datacenter or Enterprise respectively. Please do note however, that for Windows Server Machines there is an 8-core minimum per VM and 16-core minimum per Physical Server. For SQL Server there is a 4-core minimum per VM or Physical Server.

Interesting observation in the Quarterly Earnings Report, the use of Azure Arc has increased by 140% year over year because customers require ESUs and Azure Arc is now the only publicly available route to procure them. [source]

Support ended for older Office versions?

As for the ending of support for older Office 2016 and 2019 versions, it doesn’t mean these versions will stop working. It simply means Microsoft no longer offers support for these versions.?

This might be due to the fact that they are not able to, for example due to older versions having problems with M365 services. Or they want to make sure customers move to the 2021 version or even M365 Apps for Enterprise and adopt these as the standard. Though I am not a fan of such moves as they result from Microsoft’s monopolistic behavior, I do understand why. My advice is: check if you are not overdue for a change.

M365 Copilot

There has been a lot of backlash from the announcement that this would be Enterprise only, with a 300 seat minimum investment. This would exclude a lot of companies from being able to use it, from simply not being large enough, to not having the budget for such an investment. Not a great look, but the most interesting piece here is the lack of transparency from Microsoft. It seems they state this is Generally Available for Enterprise customers, though then release a statement to the CSP partners that this is going to be made available. I've spoken to CSP direct and indirect resellers, and they are quite frustrated with the messaging here, as they are now being faced with many questions by their clients and end-users on when they are able to buy from them. As of time of writing, no statement from Microsoft yet, but also no Copilot on the CSP pricelist. Which leads to assume this might not be available and is something that might not be released until somewhere Q1/Q2 2024. Be patient, and let's wait how this evolves.

There are some things I have noticed. Are there any other changes that you have found out or heard about recently that you feel like you should have known about earlier or in a more transparent way? Let me know!