From 1st April 2023, Microsoft will be implementing a 9% automatic price increase which will affect ALL Microsoft cloud services including Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure services. This follows Januarys announcement by Microsoft confirming its global pricing alignment strategy.
Microsoft will assess pricing in local currency on a scheduled twice-yearly cadence with consideration of local currency fluctuations vs the USD.
What do you need to know?
If you are on a monthly commitment plan, this increase will take effect immediately as these restart on the 1st of each month. If you are on an annual commitment plan, the pricing change will take effect on the renewal of the term.
How can we avoid the price increase?
There is the ability to secure 12 months of the current pricing if you sign an annual contract commitment before 31st March 2023. Note: you cannot reduce the number of licenses during the annual commitment contract, only increase them during the term.
We signed up to New Commerce Experience (NCE) last year, does this price increase apply?
Microsoft price changes will only apply once the current licence term has expired. If a new licence agreement is put into place before 1st April 2023 the price increase would not come into effect for 12 months.
What happens if our current licensing agreement expires after the deadline?
Please get in touch with your Account Manager as soon as possible as a solution might be available to avoid this.
What specific licensing does the price increase affect?
The 9% UK price increase applies to all Microsoft product SKUs. This is not to be confused with the previous Microsoft NCE price changes in February 2022.
Does Microsoft decrease prices?
Yes, Microsoft has decreased prices most recently in New Zealand and Taiwan. As part of the new semi-annual cadence, prices will be aligned up or down to maintain global pricing alignment.
If you have any questions, please contact your account manager.
