Think Skype for Business, think Cloud PBX, PSTN Calling, PSTN Conferencing, PSTN Consumption… But how do they all fit together?
Do you need all of them or just some of them? And what licences do you buy? Roll your sleeves up – this Microsoft article is a good place to get started to find out more: http://bit.ly/2d2rfIz.
The Enterprise Cloud Suite will automagically change into Secure Productive Enterprise on 1st October 2016.
SPE will be available in two flavours – E3 and E5 – and ECS becomes SPE E3. However, it also gets some new rights including the ability to install the server software for Exchange, Skype for Business and SharePoint on on-premises servers for SPE users (useful if you need to deploy further servers on your way to the cloud) and the From SA USLs also include the rights to install Office Professional Plus on one device.
The official Microsoft page is here: http://bit.ly/2cIWgkh.
Skype for Business Cloud PBX gives businesses PBX capabilities but without the complicated (and expensive) equipment. What do you actually get with Cloud PBX? This is a useful Microsoft page with an FAQ at the bottom which covers the licensing requirements too: http://bit.ly/2dl8ded.
Microsoft announce that the Yammer Enterprise standalone plan will retire in Volume Licensing programs on 1 January 2017 and in partner channels on 1 July 2017.
The reason? Most people use Yammer as part of a wider Office 365 plan and that’s how it will be available going forward.
There’s a useful page from Microsoft which explains how this change affects the different VL programs, and what you need to do, when.
Find this page here: http://bit.ly/2cBFncJ.
Name change alert! Delve Analytics is now known as Microsoft MyAnalytics.
According to Microsoft it’s everything you loved in Delve Analytics with additional capabilities that will allow you to stay up-to-date with important contacts, share key metrics with a coach, and help you prioritise the time you spend with different groups.
Read all about it, watch a few videos, and find an FAQ here: http://bit.ly/2d7giFy.
Microsoft launch Windows Server 2016 at the Ignite conference and confirm that it will be on the October 2016 price list and available to download for Volume Licensing customers from mid-October.
Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/2cyFeBK.
Updates for Office 365 ProPlus and Office 365 Business are made available on one of two main channels – the Current Channel and the Deferred Channel. If you want some detail on how the releases through these channels are made available and for how long they’re supported, as well as how you choose which channel to be on, then this is a useful article: http://bit.ly/1Ov0l8Q.
Heard about PSTN Consumption billing but you’re not quite sure what it is? This useful article from Microsoft will shed some light on the topic for you, showing you when it’s needed and how you set it up: http://bit.ly/2cwyeug.
Are you in charge of Enterprise Agreement true-ups for your organisation?
There’s a True-up Guide from Microsoft which may contain some useful tips for you. Find it in the Volume Licensing Programs section with all of the other useful guides from Microsoft here: https://bit.ly/MSLicensingGuides.
If you’re eligible for Windows 10 in an academic institution, then this is a useful page detailing how to license and configure Windows 10 Pro Education and Windows 10 Education: http://bit.ly/2d9Esgu.