Latest Licensing Updates for July 2024
Updates Microsoft Product Terms
July 2024 sees several changes to the Microsoft Product Terms:
Privacy and Security terms
Cortana removed from the Core Online Services and EU Data Boundary table. Azure AI Content Safety added to the list of Core Online Services.
Entra ID
Multiple products added like:
- Entra Internet Access: an identity-aware Secure Web Gateway (SWG) solution for cloud-based applications (SaaS) and the wider internet
- Entra Private Access: securely connect users from any device and any network to private apps, both on-premises and across any cloud
- Secure Access Essentials, the Entra Suite and several suite add-ons to underlying products. These products have also been added to the prerequisites table. You require at minimum an Entra ID P1 license, or an EM+S E3, E5 Security or M365 E3/E5 license. For Frontline suites you require the necessary associated F5 Security license.
Azure
Azure terms and conditions updated to state that fixed pricing (locked pricing during an enrolment term) does not apply to promotions and previews.
Dynamics 365
Microsoft added the Contact Center product to the list of products and to the prerequisites table. In order to use Contact Center, you are required to be licensed for Customer Service Enterprise. Contact Center is a product that leverages Copilot technology to deliver Gen AI solutions for contact centers. This product starts at $110 per month.
Dynamics 365 & Power Platform
Dataverse Capacity was added to the purchasing minimums table. You now need to buy at least 1000 units of T2 Database Capacity as a bare minimum.
Windows 365
Cross Region Disaster Recovery added to Windows 365 as an add-on. Of course, you require a base Windows 365 license in order to be able to use this product.
Dynamics AX, GP, NAV & SL
In the Service Provider User Rights there was an update to Dynamics AX, GP, NAV and SL stating that these products are only available to Customers with an active license provisioned on behalf of a corresponding existing End User. This means you cannot onboard new users any more to any of these products through the SPLA program.
External User definition
Finally and maybe the most interesting news, Microsoft is redefining the External User definition. Effective as of October 1st 2024, the External User definition will be updated to be: Users that are not (a) employee of Customer or its Affiliates, (b) contractors or agents that typically work for Customer or its Affiliates for more than 30 hours on average per week, or (c) contractors or agents that typically work onsite for Customer or its Affiliates on each working day.
The old definition reads: External users are users that are not employees, onsite contractors or onsite agents of Customer or its Affiliates.
With this change, the definition clarifies that people that sometimes work for you (rather than working for you every working day) are not considered users of your organization, meaning you would not need to license them for your organization. Contractors that work for your organization most of the time are deemed your employees in this case (this will not change) and as such you should license them as if they are your employees.
Will this have a large impact on your organization? I don’t think it will. The definition was already clear on you needing to license contractors, but now has a clarification that this is not the case for contractors that do limited work for you. If anything, it might mean you now need less licenses (and can require those type of contractors to use their own licenses).
