Office 365 F1

Microsoft re-brand Office 365 K1 as Office 365 F1. Previously the “K” was for “Kiosk” – those workers who typically use a PC for less than 10% of their time. “F” is for “Firstline” where firstline workers are those who are the first in line to engage with customers in the manufacturing, retail, healthcare, government, and many other sectors. Currently the F1 plan gives access to the same services as K1.

Check out this page to see what F1 includes and for a couple of useful FAQs: http://bit.ly/2uwemPH.

Microsoft 365

Microsoft introduce Microsoft 365 in Enterprise and Business editions. Enterprise edition replaces Secure Productive Enterprise and will be available as an E3 or E5 plan from 1st August 2017. Business edition is new, and is aimed at organizations with less than 300 users who want Office 365 Business Premium with security/management features from Windows 10 and EMS, as well as some new applications such as Microsoft Connections.

It’s in public preview on 2nd August 2017, and generally available in autumn 2017, priced at $20 per user per month.

Find the announcement here: http://bit.ly/2u0oUXy.

Windows Virtualisation Use Rights in CSP

Microsoft announce that virtualisation use rights in CSP will be available for Windows 10 Enterprise licences on 6th September 2017, enabling Windows VMs to be hosted in Azure or with a qualified multi-tenant hosting partner.

At that time Windows 10 Enterprise E3 will be available with or without virtualisation use rights, and Windows 10 Enterprise E5 and SPE will be updated to include them. There will also be a new Windows 10 Enterprise E3 VDA offering for customers who require access to Windows VMs on non-Windows Pro devices.

Find the announcement here: http://bit.ly/2tGfT3c.

Azure Stack

There’s a new (July 2017) Azure Stack Packaging and Pricing 2-page datasheet from Microsoft. It’s well worth a read since it gives an idea of pricing, how billing works, and which existing server licenses can be used with Azure Stack. There are also details on the Azure Stack Plan which is only available through the EA.

Find this datasheet in our Licensing Guides emporium in the Online Services section: http://bit.ly/MSLicensingGuides.

Workplace Analytics

Microsoft announce the General Availability of Workplace Analytics, sold as an Add-on Subscription Licence which can be added on to any Office 365 Enterprise plan.

Workplace Analytics is an organizational analytics solution which taps into Office 365 email and calendar data to reveal how an organization collaborates and spends time.

Find the announcement and some examples of how customers are using Workplace Analytics here: http://bit.ly/2uMHe2U.

Power BI Premium Generally Available

Microsoft confirm that Power BI Premium is generally available: http://bit.ly/2s9hhKN. Take a look at our earlier blog post for an overview of Power BI Premium: http://bit.ly/2qMOr4B.

Power BI Report Server is also generally available and page 32 of the June 2017 Product Terms confirms that customers with active SA on SQL Server Enterprise Core licences have rights to run Power BI Report Server.

June 2017 Product Terms Addendum

Microsoft release a special June 2017 Product Terms Addendum to take account of the name changes coming to the Dynamics 365 products on 1 July, 2017.

In summary, Operations becomes the Dynamics 365 Unified Operations Plan, Plan 1 becomes the Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Plan, and Plan 2 becomes the Dynamics 365 Plan.

Download this addendum here: http://bit.ly/2rRqysz.

Dynamics 365 for Talent

Microsoft announce that Dynamics 365 for Talent is now in Technical Preview. Find the announcement here: http://bit.ly/2sjccm9 with an overview of the features and an introductory video where the last line sums up the proposition of this new product: “To find the right people, keep them engaged, productive, and working for you, all you need is Talent.” According to the original announcement in May (http://bit.ly/2r9Bsa7) look out for this product in July 2017.