Procurement & Licensing

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 SharePoint Embedded: Document Management Without SharePoint Updated: March 9, 2026 SharePoint Embedded provides storage in Microsoft 365 with built-in document management for custom apps but...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 VMware Rapid Migration Plan Loses Incentives: Some Benefits for Commitment Remain Updated: February 18, 2026 Note: Following a further extension of the deadline for the VMware Rapid Migration Plan to...more

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 Enterprise Suite Packaging April 16, 2026 Office 365 Enterprise suites packaging April 16, 2026 Microsoft 365 Extensions April 16, 2026 Office 365 and Microsoft 365 Comparison April 16, 2026 Microsoft 365 Copilot Packaging April 16, 2026 Frontline Worker Online Suite Packaging April 13, 2026 Enterprise Mobility + Security Suite Packaging April 13, 2026 Available Azure Reservations Updated: April 10, 2026

  Licensing Reference Tier Term sometimes used to distinguish between various levels of Azure branded services, with differences including...more   Licensing Reference Service tier Term sometimes used to distinguish between various levels of Azure branded services.   Licensing Reference Server farm A single data center or two data centers each physically located either in time zones...more   Licensing Reference Server A physical hardware device capable of running server OSs (operating systems) and applications such as...more   Licensing Reference VM An OS (operating system) instance and applications that exhibits the behavior of a separate computer...more   Licensing Reference Virtual Machine Software component that emulates the CPU, memory, and other hardware of a computer; see VM...more   Licensing Reference Service Description Frequently updated technical documents outlining features in Microsoft 365 Enterprise and Office 365 Enterprise suites...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 Service Level Agreement A legal document that describe customers’ ability to seek financial credits if online services fall...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

Copilot   Fabric