Microsoft Changes FAQs
What are the changes being done?
Microsoft have announced (in 2021) a price increase on some of its seat-based subscriptions. Some of these price increases came into effect in August 2021 and for some more popular plans in March 2022. New pricing for Microsoft 365 - Microsoft 365 Blog
Microsoft is also hardening its subscription management policies, such as the cancellation and subscription changes during your term. They are also making different subscription billing terms available to partners and customers.
BMIT has taken the opportunity to analyse and revise the seat-based offering across to minimise the impact on your business. Overall BMIT will retain or decrease the current subscription prices but there will be certain subscriptions that will see an increase in price due to the high % increase from Microsoft.
Which plans have increased in price?
Microsoft has increased the prices on the following products as per the below blog posts: Microsoft 365 & Office 365 price increase announcement
Microsoft Intune and Enterprise Mobility & Security price increase announcement
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium
- Microsoft 365 E3
- Microsoft Office 365 E1
- Microsoft Office 365 E3
- Microsoft Office 365 E5
- Microsoft Intune (Standalone)
- Microsoft Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS) E3
- Microsoft Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS) E5
Why has the price increased?
The increase in prices is coming from Microsoft. However, BMIT has taken the opportunity to analyse and revise the seat-based offering across to minimise the impact on your business. Overall BMIT will retain or decrease the current subscription prices but there will be certain subscriptions that will see an increase in price due to the high % increase from Microsoft.
Microsoft price increase comes as part of hugely increased value added through the years. Microsoft have added 25 new apps and over 1,400 features in a decade.
Why is BMIT advertising a lower price than the one I have?
BMIT has taken the opportunity to analyse and revise the Microsoft seat-based offering across to minimise the impact on your business following the recent changes and price increases from Microsoft.
The advertised price will be applied and reflected on your invoice once your subscription is due for your subscription's annual renewal.
When is my annual renewal date?
Although you are currently paying monthly your subscription renewal date is annual. The renewal date is a year from when the subscription was first purchased. Your subscription is auto renewed by default. If you have difficulty getting to your renewal date, kindly contact our support team.
Example: A Microsoft 365 Business Basic subscription which was purchased on 21/03/2021 the renewal date will be 20/03/2022 but is being billed monthly.
With the new subscription changes introduced by Microsoft, to ensure you keep the existing price or lower, we are suggesting transitioning to a yearly pre-paid plan otherwise if you would like to keep being billed monthly there will be a 20% increase on the current unit price.
Why should I change to yearly billing?
Changing to an annual pre-paid subscription will allow your business to retain a lower price and have one invoice to settle rather than 12 throughout the year.
However, with the new Microsoft changes subscribing to an annual subscription will also mean that you will not be able to downgrade your plan or quantities. You will only be allowed to upgrade.
Why should I change to monthly billing?
Due to Microsoft billing updates, changing to monthly billing will allow your business more flexibility to downgrade your subscription plan and quantities more frequently. This is suitable if you have a dynamic quantity of users. It may also benefit your business to have monthly payments that could ease cashflow.
However, this comes at a 20% higher price than the annual term. It would also increase the invoicing frequency and risk of service suspension in case of non-payment.
When can I downgrade the quantity of seats during my term?
You can now only downgrade the quantity at the end of the subscriptions' term. If you do frequent downgrades we suggest switching to a monthly term. Although this is 20% more expensive it may be the best cost-effective approach.
Can I upgrade my subscription to a different plan during my term?
Yes, you will be able to perform a full or a partial upgrade of your licenses. A full upgrade means that all of licenses on a specific subscription is upgraded to a superior Microsoft plan. A partial upgrade would mean that a number of licenses are upgraded to a superior Microsoft plan.
Yes, you will be able to upgrade the quantity of seats. The subscription will re-tain the same details such as renewal date and term.
What happens if I do not pay?
You subscription will be suspended, and data will be deleted after 90 days from suspension.
What happens if I purchase the wrong subscription?
If the wrong subscription is purchased you will have 72 hours to contact our support to cancel the subscription, otherwise no refund will be provided.
Do I get a refund when I cancel my subscription?
If you have ordered but not paid you can cancel at any time. However, no refunds are given when cancelling the subscription beyond the first 72 hours from payment.