What is the Microsoft New Commerce Experience (NCE)?
Recently, Microsoft New Commerce Experience was announced, a big change in how customers purchase and use their cloud-based licenses.
The New Commerce Experience (NCE) ‘per seat’ model for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Windows 365, and Power Platform subscriptions is the latest in the evolution of Microsoft CSP program.
What are the major changes in NCE?
There are a number of changes introduced. The most significant being:
- Policy of License Suspension
- Policy to cancel the license
- Quantity Change Requests policy
- License Commitment duration and
- Change in Price
Microsoft has already launched the New Commerce Experience (NCE) in January 2022. This change will directly impact the way you purchase and use the Microsoft 365 licenses. However, this is not something to be scared of. The NCE is launched with the intent to minimize complexity and provide cost effective solutions for long term commitments.
Furthermore, Microsoft also announced that the price increase will come into play starting 1st March 2022 for the following licenses:
- Microsoft Business Basic (From $5 to $6)
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium (From $20 to $22)
- Office 365 E1 (From $8 to $10)
- For Office 365 E3 (From $20 to $23)
- Office 365 E5 (From $35 to $38)
- Microsoft 365 E3 (From $32 to $36)
Click here to connect to us, Microsoft Gold Partner.
With regards to the price change, Microsoft is offering a 5% discount on the annual subscription of Microsoft 365. The annual discount avail date will be until the end of March 2022. Committing to your licenses before the end of March 2022 will help you avoid any further price increase as well as avail the applied discount.
So, when does NCE launch?
Some important dates to keep in mind
10th January 2022 – The New Commerce Experience (NCE) launched and Microsoft announced the introductory promotions. Have a look at the promotion to avail the discounts available.
1st March 2022 – Starting this date, the announcement of price increase will come into play. From March all new and renewing subscriptions will have to be purchased through NCE.
1st October 2022 – It will be made mandatory for all customers to purchase through NCE.
What are the subscription options for NCE?
With the launch of NCE, there are monthly and yearly subscriptions introduced by Microsoft. Starting March 2022, there will also be a 36 month subscription launched. This will help you to avoid any future price increase for the next 36 months. In total, there will be 3 subscriptions available for the customer to opt for:
Monthly subscription
With the NCE, you will now be able to opt for a month-to-month license purchase without having to opt for the annual commitment. With this subscription, customers will have the flexibility to make changes to the Microsoft 365 and Office 365 license plans and seat counts. However, there will be a 20% price increase with this subscription across all license plans. This 20% increase can be avoided if you opt for the subscription before June 30, 2022.
12 month subscription
With the NCE, you will be able to go for the 12 months subscription just like the legacy CSP model. However, with NCE, you will have an option to be billed on a monthly or annual basis.
The benefit for this would be that your prices will be locked in for the complete year helping you avoid the 20% increase of the monthly plan and at the same time avoiding any further price changes. Also, you can increase your seat count at any time with this subscription, but you won’t be able to decrease them during the entire term.
36 month subscription
With this plan, you can choose to be billed monthly, annually, or pay upfront allowing you to increase the seat count but not decrease it. In addition, it will also save you from any further price increase.
Cancellation of Policy
To cancel any new subscription, you will have the first 72 hours to do so with a prorated refund.
- First 24 hours: Full Refund
- 24 to 48 hours: Refund with 1 Day charge deduction
- 48 to 72 hours: Refund with 2 Days charge deduction
- After 72 hours: No refund
Suspension of Policy
For the suspension of the subscriptions, billing will still continue even after the license is suspended. After the suspension, you can resume your subscription to complete the committed term.
Trial License
If you would like to try the license before making the commitment, we can help you obtain a monthly trial license before opting for any subscription.
Click here to connect to us, Microsoft Gold Partner.
Who can help you with the NCE changes?
It is wise to speak to a partner before 1 March 2022 about all the NCE changes and what could be the best solution for your business.
As Microsoft Gold Partner, we can help you audit your license to make sure you are paying for what you are using and not paying anything extra. Our team of experts will also be able to assist you with the best subscription and help you avail the discounts available.
