Author Archives: Louise Ulrick

Microsoft Copilot Studio

Microsoft announced Copilot Studio in November 2023, a conversational AI platform for users to create bots (copilots) using natural language or a graphical interface. It’s built on Power Virtual Agents, and to that end, the Power Virtual Agents brand is retired in favour of Copilot Studio. It’s licensed with a tenant capacity licence costing $200 per month allowing 25,000 messages and, as with Power Virtual Agents, a zero-cost Per User licence is required for every user who will create copilots.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3SCDiQd, and Microsoft’s Copilot Studio licensing page here: https://bit.ly/3SAEjbi.

Universal Print User SL

Microsoft added the Universal Print User SL to the October 2023 Product Terms, a licence for users who need to make use of the Azure-based software-as-a-service printing solution and who don’t have one of the licences that include Universal Print jobs (Microsoft 365 F3/E3/E5/Business Premium or Windows 11 Enterprise E3/E5). The standalone licence costs $4 per user per month and includes 5 print jobs, as do the Windows 11 Enterprise E3/E5 and Microsoft 365 F3 licences – the rest include 100 print jobs. There are then two Add-ons available for higher print volume – another 500 jobs cost $25 per month, and 10,000 jobs cost $300 per month, and you need to commit to the extra volume for a year.

There’s a good page on licensing Universal Print here: https://bit.ly/3Mzfbzd.

Azure Arc ESUs for DR and Dev/Test environments

Microsoft added text to the October 2023 Product Terms confirming that if a customer has enabled Extended Security Updates through Azure Arc they may use the updates on licensed Disaster Recovery servers and in Dev/Test environments.

Find the terms here: https://bit.ly/3Y6xsac, and note that the same rules apply for the traditional 1-year ESUs, the terms of which are here: https://bit.ly/46ldV8W.

Windows Server Annual Channel for Containers

Microsoft add use rights for the Windows Server Annual Channel for Containers to the October 2023 Product Terms. Customers are eligible to use this operating system if they have Windows Server Datacenter Core licences acquired either with Software Assurance or as Software Subscriptions and can expect a new release every 12 months, with support for 24 months.

You can find an announcement article here: https://bit.ly/48QwBzo, an overview of Windows Server servicing channels here: https://bit.ly/3ucQHFe, and the relevant Product Terms page here: https://bit.ly/3SBAhzE.

Extended Security Updates

Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 and SQL Server 2012 are now out of support but it’s possible to purchase Extended Security Updates licences to receive security updates for a further three years for these products. The idea of ESUs isn’t new, but what IS new is that 1-year ESUs are now available through CSP (rather than just an EA/EES) and there’s a new PAYG option for ESUs through Azure Arc. This is a great page to learn more: https://bit.ly/3QBfgnn, and to get links to further information.

Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide

There’s an updated (October 2023) Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide. The main change is the removal of the Customer Voice standalone licence, although the allowance of Customer Voice responses remains for certain licences such as a Sales Enterprise User SL.

Find this updated guide here: https://bit.ly/46zq0b5.

Power Platform Licensing Guide

There’s an updated (October 2023) Power Platform Licensing Guide. The main change is clarification that a Power Automate bot is only licensed to be used in a single environment – if the same bot or process is deployed in a different environment, then an additional licence is required.

Find this updated guide here: https://bit.ly/3LMGGUH.

Grace period for Azure Reservation exchanges

Microsoft announced in October 2022 that Azure compute Reservations purchased on or after 1 January, 2024 would no longer be able to be exchanged. There is now a grace period meaning that customers have at least until 1 July, 2024 to exchange their Reservations for Azure Dedicated Host, Azure App Services, and Reserved Instances. This is a useful article with some example scenarios: https://bit.ly/3MdGC0m.

Azure Container Apps now eligible for Azure Savings Plan discounts

Microsoft announce that Azure Container Apps are now eligible for Azure Savings Plan discounts. Customers able to commit to a 1-year plan can expect savings of 15%, and 17% for a 3-year plan, compared to Pay-As-You-Go costs. You can find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/40oG9P3, and a reminder of how Azure Savings Plans work on our blog here: https://bit.ly/3tQVCe9.

Microsoft Viva updates

There are more changes to the Viva family. A couple of mini-suites were added to the October Product Terms – the (snazzily named) Viva Employee Communications and Communities User SL and the Viva Workplace Analytics and Employee Feedback User SL. Prices are $2 and $6 per user per month respectively, and you can see what’s included in which suite using the updated (September 2023) Viva comparison document which you can find here: https://bit.ly/493U5BM. In other news, Viva Amplify is now available worldwide (https://bit.ly/3s4YFiw), Copilot in Viva Goals is available in private preview (https://bit.ly/408VgMc), and Skills in Viva will enter into private preview by the end of 2023 and will be included in the Microsoft Viva Suite licence (https://bit.ly/49jT4Wz).