Comparing Paths for Licensing Microsoft 365—The Savings May Not Stack Up  Updated: January 18, 2026 Customers have numerous paths available for licensing Microsoft 365 services. Licensing subcomponents on an à...more Deciphering Power Apps Licensing Updated: January 15, 2026 Update: The Power Apps Per App licensing option has been discontinued as of Jan. 2,...more Top Reasons to Use SQL Server 2025 and a Few Reasons to Avoid It January 14, 2026 SQL Server 2025 reached general availability in Nov. 2025 and offers compelling changes that should...more Visual Studio 2026 Smooths AI Integration, First of Annual Releases Updated: January 11, 2026 Visual Studio 2026, Microsoft’s flagship development product, became generally available in Nov. 2025, and major...more How to Apply Azure Reservations and Savings Plans Effectively January 10, 2026 Azure compute is typically the single largest cost category of resources that an organization will...more Viva Packaging for Microsoft 365 Users Updated: January 6, 2026 The most commonly used end-user features of Viva are built into Microsoft 365 licenses. Customers...more Free SQL Server Developer Edition Is Mostly for Demos Updated: January 2, 2026 SQL Server Developer edition is free for development and test use. Because the product requires...more Intune Premium License Tiers Still Not Worth It Updated: December 23, 2025 Two premium Intune tiers are now available, along with multiple à la carte features. Intune...more Intune Suite Features Added to Microsoft 365 E5, E3 Ahead of 2026 Price Increases Updated: December 23, 2025 The features of the Intune Suite have been split across the Microsoft 365 E5 and...more Office LTSC Timeline Updated: December 16, 2025 Office Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) 2024 extends the supported life span of the Office...more Power BI Report Server: Licensing Changes Offer Potential Cost Savings December 15, 2025 Power BI Report Server licensing rules changed with SQL Server 2025, offering potential cost savings....more How Microsoft’s New Agent Pricing Option Affects Costs Updated: December 5, 2025 A new upfront purchasing option for agents provides discounts over pay-as-you-go billing. The new option...more Goodbye SQL Server Reporting Services and Hello Power BI Report Server December 1, 2025 SQL Server 2025 (released in Nov. 2025) will not include Reporting Services (SSRS), its long-standing reporting...more The Microsoftification of GitHub Updated: November 30, 2025 Microsoft organizational changes suggest that GitHub will receive more direct Microsoft control and oversight. The...more EA to MCA Legal Terms and Strategy November 24, 2025 Microsoft is gradually phasing out the traditional Enterprise Agreement (EA)  that most customers use for...more Demystifying Microsoft’s Copilots Updated: October 27, 2025 Copilot-branded technologies from Microsoft assist users in completing tasks, but Microsoft overstates ROI. Almost all...more

Dynamics 365 Services Packaging December 17, 2025 Microsoft 365 Copilot Packaging September 8, 2025 Frontline Worker Online Suite Packaging September 1, 2025 Microsoft 365 Enterprise Suite Packaging September 1, 2025 Microsoft 365 Extensions September 1, 2025 Office and Windows Supported Combinations September 1, 2025 Office 365 and Microsoft 365 Comparison September 1, 2025 Viva Packaging for Microsoft 365 Users June 30, 2025 GitHub Copilot Tier Comparison June 3, 2025 Navigating Microsoft’s Copilots Updated: May 11, 2025 Office Suite Hosting Scenarios Updated: April 8, 2025 SQL Server Hosting Scenarios Updated: April 8, 2025 Windows VDI Hosting Scenarios Updated: April 8, 2025 Per Core License Model Flowchart Updated: April 8, 2025 Windows Enterprise Rights Flowchart Updated: April 8, 2025 Windows client OS edition packaging Updated: April 8, 2025

  Licensing Reference Power Apps Power Apps allows the creation of line-of-business apps by citizen developers (also referred to as...more   Licensing Reference Power Automate Power Automate is a low-code platform for developing, publishing, and running simple to moderately complex...more   Licensing Reference Power Pages Power Pages allows the creation of certain types of (typically external) Web sites without relying...more   Licensing Reference Copilot Studio Copilot Studio provides makers (also known as citizen developers) with low-code tools to build agents...more   Licensing Reference Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) demonstrates to Microsoft a customer’s plans for long-term Azure spending.   Licensing Reference Microsoft 365 Copilot An online service that provides a range of general-purpose and specialized AI-powered productivity capabilities; licensed...more   Licensing Reference Enterprise Subscription Enrollment An Enterprise Agreement option where all licenses purchased, including those for on-premises products, are subscriptions...more   Licensing Reference Online Services Suite Timeline Outlines major licensing and packaging changes to online services suites sold as User SLs (Subscription...more   Licensing Reference Enterprise Online Service A subscription-based online service that an EA customer commits to purchase under an Enterprise Enrollment...more   Licensing Reference Enterprise Product An on-premises product an EA customer commits to purchase under an Enterprise Enrollment or Enterprise...more   Licensing Reference Industry device A highly specialized computing device used solely to run specific industry or task-specific software; definition...more   Licensing Reference Qualified device Term used to describe general purpose PCs and Macs as well as some other personal...more   Licensing Reference Qualified User Term used to describe people who make significant use of Microsoft online services or on-premises...more   Licensing Reference Qualified User Exemption A product SKU attribute relevant to Enterprise Enrollments and Enterprise Subscription Enrollments; if all licenses...more   Licensing Reference MBSA An evergreen document that contains numerous terms and conditions applicable to EA (Enterprise Agreement) and...more   Licensing Reference Enrollment for Application Platform A now defunct EA (Enterprise Agreement) enrollment option that offered discounts on server-side licenses for...more