February 2023 Licensing Update
Main updates for February
Welcome to today’s blog with our Monthly Licensing Update for February 2023. We can’t believe it’s February already, the first month of the year has flown by. Let’s look at the changes to Microsoft licensing over the past month in this licensing update.
Obviously one of the biggest things to be announced in January was the price increase for foreign exchange currencies. Microsoft is going to review all its foreign price lists biannually and adjust the prices based on the USD exchange rate. We just hope this does not only mean they will increase prices, but that it also means they will decrease prices if a currency is doing better/worse in relation to the USD.
Besides this major announcement there is not a lot of news from their side. There are however six entries in the Product Terms that we want to highlight.
Six updates for February 2023:
- Operate Connect
- Exchange Online
- Microsoft Azure
- Privacy and Security Terms
- Definitive removal 24/7 Problem Resolution Support
- Windows Desktop Operating System
1. Operator Connect
Microsoft added a sentence in the Product Terms that Operator Connect includes Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile.
This means that whenever Microsoft refers to Operator Connect they are referring to all the different items.
2. Exchange Online
Microsoft updated its archiving options under the core features for Exchange Online to include Exchange Online Kiosk. With your Exchange Online Kiosk Plan, which is included in Microsoft 365 F3 or Office 365 F3 for instance, the archiving feature is now enabled for those licenses.
This is good news as the Exchange Online Kiosk only allows a user a 2GB mailbox so being able to archive will be convenient.
3. Microsoft Azure
Microsoft has updated the Service Specific Terms for the Azure Communication Gateway and the Azure Private 5G Core with two new clauses:
Clause 1 The Azure Communication Gateway:
Only “available for Telecommunication Service Providers that use Azure, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Customers Volume Licensing agreement. Furthermore, Microsoft has no defense obligation or liability for any infringement claim for patents alleged to be infringed by the implementation of any standards in Azure Communications Gateway”.
Standards is defined as “any technology specification created by an organization or contractually formed group whose activities include developing, promulgating, or otherwise producing technical standards to be used by adopters or implementers”. As the end customer you are responsible for obtaining any required licenses directly from the holders of such rights.
Clause 2 Azure Private 5G core:
The Software License clause was added subject to the following terms and conditions: “Microsoft grants you a non-exclusive, limited, royalty-free nontransferable right to use the Azure Private 5G Core software solely as part of an Azure Private MEC solution. Customer agrees that it will only use Azure Private 5G Core after review by Microsoft and may be required to assent to additional terms and conditions”.
For more details visit this link: aka.ms/ap5gcvalidation.
4. Privacy & Security terms
Windows 365 has finally been added to the Online Services and it has been given its own category. Only the cloud service portion of Windows 365 is referenced here, excluding the Windows operating system running on Windows 365 Cloud PCs. Windows 365 is SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II compliant.
As for the location of customer data, Microsoft states that “when a Windows 365 tenant is deployed within an available Geo, then for that tenant, Microsoft will store Customer Data at rest within that specified Geo. If customer provisions Windows 365 Cloud PCs within the same tenant to different available Geos, then for each Cloud PC Microsoft will store Cloud PC Customer Data at rest within that specified Geo.
5. Definitive removal 24/7 Problem Resolution Support
Several years ago Microsoft removed 24/7 Problem Resolution Support as a Software Assurance Benefit along with Training & Planning Service They have now also deleted this entry completely from the Software Assurance page and Product Terms. This also means that you can no longer leverage the 24/7 Problem Resolution Support hours into a fee reduction for your Premier or Unified Service Support Contract.
This is a shame because the Unified Support Contract is already more expensive than the Premier Support Contract. If you are in the process of moving from Premier Support to Unified Support, make sure to highlight this point with your Microsoft Services Sales to find out what this means for your price to avoid any surprises. If you need support on tackling this issue, reach out to us as we can help.
6. Windows Desktop Operating System
The Universal Print Volume Add-on SKUs has been added to the Availability Table as well as the prerequisite licenses that you need to license this add on. Both the Unlimited Print Volume Add-on for 10K and 500 units has been added to the table. Regarding prerequisites, you will need an active license for Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Windows 11 Education, Windows 11 Enterprise E3/E5 as well as a Universal Print license itself.
These are all the changes we have for you today. We hope you have found the information useful as always.
Visit our website or YouTube channel for more licensing information. For any further questions or looking for help, drop us a mail at info@licenseq.com.
