Monthly Archives: May 2016

Microsoft Business Center FAQ

The Microsoft Business Center was launched worldwide on 16 May, 2016. This is the new portal for MPSA users and while it looks different at first glance, carrying out tasks such as viewing licences, downloading keys, and managing SA benefits is the same.

There is, however, a new URL (businessaccount.microsoft.com), but existing credentials will still work, and we’re told that future plans include the ability to see purchases made through other Volume Licensing agreements – hurrah!

This FAQ is a good overview document: http://bit.ly/1TMOhSm.

Switching to an Azure Prepayment Plan

If you buy your Azure Services direct from the Microsoft website then you pay the advertised consumption prices, but if you’re prepared to make a 12-month upfront payment of at least $6,000 then you receive a 5% discount on these prices.

If this sounds fab, then you need to get your existing subscriptions to bill under the prepayment plan by following the instructions here: http://bit.ly/1s9piOy.

Check the prepayment option is the right one for you here: http://bit.ly/1TxYP9E.

Dynamics AX Licensing Updates

Changes to Dynamics AX licensing: the May 2016 Licensing Guide confirms that a Standard Acceptance Testing Instance is now provided for the life of the tenant, rather than just three months – see page 9.

There are also details of exactly what Power BI licences will be included with Platform Update 1: the Enterprise SL will include a Power BI Pro licence, and all SLs will include the Power BI Embedded licence which means that all users will be able to access the Power BI reports embedded within the Dynamics AX application – also page 9.

Find the updated guide here: http://bit.ly/1WSj4jt.

Microsoft Data Centres in Canada

The Microsoft data centres grow again: two data centres are now open in Canada offering Azure and Office 365 with data residency for business customers in Canada, and CRM Online available later this year in Q3. There are also plans for a new data centre region in Seoul, South Korea.

Find the Microsoft announcement here: http://bit.ly/1XLVxPZ and if you’re interested in where customer data is stored for Office 365 and CRM Online, then these interactive maps are worth a look: http://bit.ly/1YQuBwP.

Azure Site Recovery now in CSP

Microsoft announce that Azure Site Recovery (ASR) is generally available in the current Azure portal – and thus also available through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program.

Find the announcement here: http://bit.ly/1TWXqWO and this is a splendid article if you want to know more about how ASR works in CSP: http://bit.ly/1XwocbA.

Office 365 Licensing Guide

There’s a new (March 2016) Volume Licensing Brief for Office 365.

This document has useful tables showing you all the Office 365 plans and what’s included in each one, as well as availability in the different channels. Then there’s an overview of the four flavours of USL that customers can choose from:

  • Full USL (if you’re a new Online Services customer)
  • From SA USL (if you’re transitioning from existing on-premises products with SA)
  • Add-on USL (if you’ve got traditional licences and want to try the cloud), and a
  • Step Up USL (if you want to go to a higher plan).

Finally, there’s a useful table showing the technical dependencies of some of the Office 365 services.

Find this guide here: http://bit.ly/259poHI.

Microsoft Hosting and CSP Newsletter

The April 2016 Hosting and Cloud Service Provider newsletter is out with some useful information: you can attend a webcast on recent updates to the SPLA licensing program with Microsoft’s Michael Chacon on 9th June – this link will add the appointment to your calendar: http://bit.ly/24U9HAv – and there are details of your transition options if you’re a partner in the retiring Hosting competency.

Sign up for this free newsletter here: http://bit.ly/1iVEvxV.

GA of Project Server 2016

Microsoft announce General Availability of Project Server 2016.

As we’re coming to expect, this on-premises product is built from the same code used to deliver the cloud service, and it’s now a part of a SharePoint Server installation – although separate Project Server licences will naturally be required.

The Microsoft announcement is here: http://bit.ly/27cR5Oa.

SharePoint Server 2016 GA

Microsoft announce general availability of SharePoint Server 2016, and confirm that it’s derived from the same code used to deliver SharePoint Online.

What’s the future of the on-premises product? Well, innovations will (as you’d expect) be delivered to Office 365 first, but many will also be available via Feature Packs to SharePoint Server 2016 customers with Software Assurance.

The first Feature Pack will be available through the public update channel in 2017, and customers will have control over which features are enabled in their on-premises farms.

Full details are here: http://bit.ly/1XbKkIb.

Office Online Server Available

Microsoft announce the release of Office Online Server, the successor to Office Web Apps Server 2013.

This product enables you to deliver browser-based versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote from your on-premises datacentre with the same functionality as Office Online.

Licensing-wise, any customer with a Volume Licensing agreement can download OOS from VLSC at no cost for view-only functionality. If you want create, edit and save functionality then you need an Office licence with active SA or an Office 365 ProPlus subscription. However, if you buy Office 2016 through Volume Licensing before 1 August 2016, then you won’t need SA until 1 August 2019.

Find the announcement here: http://bit.ly/23tSr2y.