Procurement & Licensing

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 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 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 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 Comparing Options 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 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 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

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 Team Foundation Server Windows Server-based software that provides source code control, project and build management, test execution, and...more   Licensing Reference Team Foundation Server Express A free edition of Visual Studio Team Foundation Server, a Windows Server-based application lifecycle management...more   Licensing Reference Azure DevOps Services An online service that that provides source code control, project and build management, test execution,...more   Licensing Reference Phone System Renamed Jan. 2022; see Teams Phone for in-depth entry.   Licensing Reference Skype for Business PSTN Consumption Renamed to Communication Credits   Licensing Reference Skype for Business Online PSTN Calling Renamed to Calling Plan, for use with Teams in conjunction with Teams Phone.   Licensing Reference Skype for Business Online Cloud PBX A hosted public exchange (PBX) service that augmented Skype for Business Online (now retired and...more   Licensing Reference Skype for Business Online PSTN Conferencing Replaced by Audio Conferencing for Teams.   Licensing Reference Service Provider Licensing Rule Comparison Illustration explains how licensing rules for software deployed at service providers differ from rules associated...more   Licensing Reference Enterprise CAL Suite Timeline Outlines major changes to the Enterprise CAL Suite’s content and pricing.   Licensing Reference Office Professional Plus and Standard Edition Packaging Illustration compares application components in Office Professional Plus and Office Standard across versions 2016 through...more   Licensing Reference Microsoft 365 Enterprise Suite Add-ons Illustration summarizes add-ons that on-premises product customers can purchase to license Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3...more   Licensing Reference Enterprise Mobility + Security Suite Add-ons Illustration summarizes the various Add-ons that on-premises product customers can purchase to license Enterprise Mobility...more   Licensing Reference Skype for Business Server CAL Types and Features Illustration outlines the technical features licensed by the Skype for Business Server Standard, Enterprise, and...more   Licensing Reference Azure Information Protection A (now depreciated) set of capabilities for data classification, sensitivity labeling, and protection that evolved...more   Licensing Reference Core CAL Suite Timeline Outlines major changes to the Core CAL Suite’s content and pricing.

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