Procurement

Windows Server Licensing Scenarios Updated: August 23, 2026 The reasons for choosing one edition of Windows Server over another have fundamentally changed over...more Cut Service Consumption Costs with Pre-Purchase Plans August 7, 2026 There are now four Pre-Purchase Plans that provide savings over PAYG on consumption-based services, such...more Azure SQL Database DTUs: There’s a Better Way July 1, 2026 The Azure SQL Database DTU model bundles compute, memory, and storage that are easy to...more Identity Manager: SP3 Arrives, But Support Still Ends in 2029 Updated: June 22, 2026 Microsoft Identity Manager is set for retirement in 2029, and no direct replacement is expected....more Strategies for Controlling Dynamics 365 Storage Costs June 17, 2026 Dynamics 365 storage growth is a predictable consequence of long-term system use, not an unusual...more EA to MCA and CSP: Costs and Risks May 8, 2026 Midsize customers are being forced out of Enterprise Agreements and steered toward Microsoft Customer Agreements...more Transitioning Microsoft 365 from an EA to an MCA Updated: April 24, 2026 Enterprise Agreement customers transitioning to Microsoft Customer Agreements will have to reassess how they license...more Transitioning Microsoft 365 from an EA to an MCA Updated: April 24, 2026 Enterprise Agreement customers transitioning to Microsoft Customer Agreements will have to reassess how they license...more Microsoft 365 Government: What’s in the Box? Updated: April 12, 2026 Microsoft 365 Government offers U.S. governmental organizations more regulatory compliance capabilities than Microsoft 365 commercial...more Microsoft 365 Education: Differs from Enterprise by Degrees Updated: April 12, 2026 Microsoft 365 Education offers most of the features included in commercial enterprise Microsoft 365 offerings, with...more Azure: Know Reservations Updated: April 10, 2026 Azure reservations allow customers to reduce Azure costs in exchange for a one- or three-year...more How to Apply Azure Reservations and Savings Plans Effectively to Compute Workloads Updated: April 10, 2026 Azure compute is typically the single largest cost category of resources that an organization will...more EA to MCA: Spot Legal Traps Updated: March 18, 2026 Finding the Most Common Pain Points Comparing the EA contract stack (fig. 1) and the...more Demystifying Microsoft’s Copilots Updated: March 6, 2026 Copilot-branded technologies from Microsoft assist users in completing tasks, but Microsoft overstates ROI. Almost all...more And Acquisition for All: Microsoft 365 Self-Service Purchase March 2, 2026 Microsoft makes several services available for direct purchase by end users to promote adoption, circumventing...more Services Increasingly Expanding Beyond Microsoft 365 Suites Updated: February 27, 2026 New tiers of several Microsoft 365 core services are quite expensive and are not available...more

Frontline Worker Online Suite Packaging August 14, 2026 Microsoft 365 Enterprise Suite Packaging August 14, 2026 Office 365 Enterprise suites packaging August 14, 2026 Office 365 and Microsoft 365 Comparison August 14, 2026 Per Core License Model Flowchart May 1, 2026 Teams-related Product Packaging April 23, 2026 CALs Included with Online Services Suites April 17, 2026 CAL Suite Contents April 17, 2026 External User Qualification Requirements Updated: April 17, 2026 Enterprise Agreement Contract Stack April 17, 2026 Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise Packaging April 17, 2026 Office and Windows Supported Combinations April 17, 2026 Microsoft 365 Extensions April 16, 2026 Microsoft 365 Copilot Packaging April 16, 2026 Enterprise Mobility + Security Suite Packaging April 13, 2026 Available Azure Reservations Updated: April 10, 2026

  Licensing Reference Data Share Azure Data Share is a managed service for distributing data to customers, partners, and other...more   Licensing Reference Cosmos DB Azure Cosmos DB is billed for three separate components: Compute (provisioned or pay-as-you-go (PAYG) with...more   Licensing Reference Office 365 Enterprise Suites Packaging Illustration + caption compares the contents of Office 365 F3, E1, E3, and E5 suites.   Licensing Reference Microsoft 365 Enterprise Suite Packaging Illustration + caption compare the online services and features bundled into Microsoft 365 F3, E3,...more   Licensing Reference Frontline Worker Online Suite Packaging Illustration + caption summarize the online services and features included with Microsoft 365 Enterprise F1/F3...more   Licensing Reference Office 365 and Microsoft 365 Comparison Illustration + caption compares the set of online services included with Office 365 E1/E3/E5 suites...more   Licensing Reference Office Desktop Suite Timeline Outlines major licensing and packaging changes to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, Office Professional Plus,...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 Microsoft 365 Comparison Table PDF document updated monthly that lists the components/features included in the various Microsoft 365 suites...more   Licensing Reference Visual Studio Professional Subscription Licenses non-production use of a broad array of Microsoft products; targets developers who do not...more   Licensing Reference Visual Studio Test Professional Subscription Licenses testing tools along with non-production use of a broad array of Microsoft software and...more   Licensing Reference Visual Studio Enterprise Subscription Licenses (mostly) non-production use of Microsoft products; targets developers requiring the most advanced debugging, diagnostics,...more   Licensing Reference Copilot Cowork Copilot Cowork requires the M365 Copilot license but breaks the per-seat pricing model   Licensing Reference Dataverse The primary database and file and log storage provider for Power Apps, Power Automate, Power...more   Licensing Reference Azure Dedicated Host A physical server, located in an Azure datacenter, dedicated to hosting a single customer’s VM-based...more   Licensing Reference Database for PostgreSQL A managed relational database service based on the community edition of PostgreSQL. Purchased primarily based...more

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