There’s an updated (September 2021) Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide. There aren’t major changes and you can find a full list of the tweaks that have been made in the Change Log on page 58. If the Guides and Remote Assist mixed reality products are of interest you might want to take a look at pages 19 and 24 where additional tables have been added to show the functionality that could be used by users in different roles.
Find this updated guide here: https://bit.ly/3BNqLxV.
Microsoft announce that Windows 11 will start to become available on 5 October, 2021, and that it is now available in preview on Azure Virtual Desktop.
Find the availability announcement with 11 highlights of Windows 11 here: https://bit.ly/3yBK8YG, and information on the different Windows 11 images available for AVD here: https://bit.ly/2WVl0PM.
Microsoft announce that Microsoft Defender for Endpoint will be renamed Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 with a subset of functionality being made available as a Plan 1. The new Plan 1 will be available later in 2021 as a standalone licence, and the capabilities will also be added to Microsoft 365 E3/A3 licences.
Find the full announcement with more details here: https://bit.ly/3DCezSs.
Microsoft announce the General Availability of Windows Server 2022 from 1 September, 2021 and confirm that only Long-Term Servicing Channel releases will be available.
Find the announcement article with an overview of new features here: https://bit.ly/3gOj82c, and details on servicing models with end of support dates for existing Semi-Annual Channel releases here: https://bit.ly/3geb76r.
There’s an updated (August 2021) Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide.
There are two main updates: firstly for the changes to the licensing of Dynamics 365 Marketing with the availability of packs for Additional Interactions, and secondly for the launch of Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management. Find out more about the changes to Marketing on our blog here: https://bit.ly/384voab, and information on Intelligent Order Management here: https://bit.ly/3j7zp3W.
Get the updated Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide here: https://bit.ly/3rQpN08.
Microsoft announce the General Availability of Customer Journey Orchestration capabilities in Dynamics 365 Marketing, with the aim of helping organizations to create deeper relationships with their customers through more meaningful interactions. This gives rise to a change in the licensing of Dynamics 365 Marketing. Previously centred entirely around Marketing contacts, there are now allocations for interactions included (10 for each Marketing contact licensed per month), with Additional Interactions packs available.
Find the Customer Journey Orchestration GA announcement here: https://bit.ly/3j5PF5k, and information on pricing and official definitions for Marketing contacts and interactions here: https://bit.ly/384JQyL.
An Audio Conferencing licence enables you to provide a dial-in phone number for Teams meeting attendees, and to dial-out during a meeting to invite other callers into that meeting.
Currently there are two promotions that entitle EA and CSP customers to free Audio Conferencing licences (https://bit.ly/33NIFkN), with both promotions running until 31 December, 2021 (https://bit.ly/3gn1wu8).
However, Microsoft have now announced that over the coming months they will add unlimited dial-in capabilities for Teams meetings for existing Office 365 and Microsoft 365 licences. Find the information towards the bottom of this page: https://bit.ly/3kdqvBg.
Microsoft announce the General Availability of Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management, helping customers to take and fulfil orders at the fastest speed and lowest cost. It’s licensed via a tenant licence costing $300 per month which covers 1,000 order lines. There’s no separate licence for additional capacity, customers just buy more units of the tenant licence.
Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3D8EDnQ, and confirmation of the pricing here: https://bit.ly/2WhOZBd.
Microsoft announce that there will be per user per month price increases for the following products from 1 March, 2022:
Find the announcement from Microsoft here: https://bit.ly/3kdqvBg.
Microsoft announce the public preview of SharePoint Server Subscription Edition, the next version of the on-premises SharePoint Server product.
Back in September 2020 they announced (https://bit.ly/3j8SrEy) that the next versions of Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, Skype for Business Server, and Project Server would only be available with the purchase of a subscription licence entitling organisations to support, product updates, and security patches. Project Server Subscription Edition is a part of the SharePoint Server Subscription Edition installation and thus also available for preview.
Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/2W34YTx.