Category Archives: Uncategorized

Microsoft Defender Experts Suite

Microsoft have launched the Microsoft Defender Experts Suite, a managed extended detection and response (MXDR) service that connects companies with Microsoft’s own security teams to address their cybersecurity needs. Only available through the EA, the suite bundles three offerings: Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR for continual security alert management, Microsoft Incident Response for cyberattack handling, and Microsoft Enhanced Designated Engineering for long-term security optimisation. Two plans are available for customers already licensed with Microsoft 365 E5, the Defender Suite, the Defender Suite FLW, or the Defender + Purview Suite FLW. In addition, there’s a promotion currently running until December 2026 for customers who already have Microsoft 365 E5 or Defender + Purview Suite FLW licenses and who purchase more than 1,500 licences of the new suites.

Find the promo details here: https://bit.ly/4qYe2Cd, compare the plans here: https://bit.ly/3Li4R0n, and check out the useful datasheet here: https://bit.ly/49DSZhj.

Azure Arc-enabled Windows Server benefits

In November 2024 Microsoft made a set of Azure’s server management capabilities free for eligible customers running Windows Server on Azure Arc-enabled machines. If you’re running a Pay-As-You-Go server or it’s covered with licenses with Software Assurance or Software Subscriptions, then services such as Azure Update Manager, Change Tracking and Inventory, and Machine Configuration are included free of charge. Historically, you’ve needed to identify individual eligible servers and then manually activate the benefits, attesting you have the correct licences. Now there’s a new Azure Policy that, when implanted, continuously monitors the Azure Arc environment automatically identifying newly added machines and highlighting those missing the required benefits. It’s then an easy job for an administrator to initiate a remediation task to enable some of all of these servers for the benefits.

Find the announcement article for this new policy here: https://bit.ly/49YRQlz.

Exchange Web Services update

Exchange Web Services (EWS) is a legacy Microsoft API that allows software applications to access and interact with Exchange mailboxes—things like email, calendar, contacts, and folder data. In September 2023 Microsoft announced that EWS would be disabled in Exchange Online in October 2026, advising developers to move to Microsoft Graph. As part of the retirement journey EWS access will be blocked for all mailboxes without rights to EWS from 1 July, 2026. This sounds a bit bizarre, but although Exchange Online Kiosk, Microsoft 365 F3, and Office 365 F3 licenses don’t include EWS rights, restrictions have never been enforced. Note that this date was recently moved from 1 March, 2026 to give customers extra time to remove their dependencies on EWS.

Find the updated announcement article here: https://bit.ly/4jJHitX.

The next version of Azure DevOps Server is GA

Microsoft announce that the next version of Azure DevOps Server is now generally available. Although it’s the successor to Azure DevOps Server 2022 there isn’t a version number attached to the product name and it’s moved over to the Modern Lifecycle Policy. That means that customers who stay current with updates and meet servicing and system requirements will get regular security and feature updates.

Find the announcement article here: https://bit.ly/49AjkNf.

New COCP process in the Enterprise Agreement

EA customers can now submit Change of Channel Partner (COCP) requests directly through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center or Azure Management Portal, rather than having partners initiate the process. The nominated new channel partner will see incoming COCP requests in VL Central and must either accept or decline each request manually. Guidance for partners can be found here: https://bit.ly/49eXTCs, with customer resources available for the Azure Management Portal here: https://bit.ly/3N9HvdS, and for the Microsoft 365 Admin Center here: https://bit.ly/49M5xnS.

You’ll find the announcement with full details here: https://bit.ly/4prOTP3.

Software Assurance Program Guide

We’ve recently discovered an updated(!) Software Assurance Program Guide. It’s the first in a few years, though it could still use a few updates, as there are references to discontinued Software Assurance benefits and products. As always, a record of the quirks can be found on our Licensing Guides Cautionary Notes page: https://bit.ly/LSLVLGCN.

You can grab the 10-page guide here: https://bit.ly/3LdJAVz.

Microsoft 365 training

We’re kicking off the year with Microsoft 365 month at Licensing School. This January, we’re hosting two sessions covering fundamental and advanced licensing, everything from the Apps and Online Services to security and compliance, and more! To help navigate the minefield of choosing the right offering, we’ll share expert tips and introduce our new Plan Picker tool. Subscribers can register here: https://bit.ly/LS_Training.

If you’re not a subscriber and would benefit from this kind of training course, discuss your options by contacting info@licensingschool.co.uk.

Power Platform licensing resources

There are updated (January 2026) Power Platform licensing resources now available. The main change is the apparent end of sale of the Power Apps Per App User SL. However, for the moment there’s no official announcement detailing what existing customers need to do, and this licence remains transactable and in the Product Terms.

Grab the updated Licensing Guide here: https://bit.ly/44WG4W7, and its sidekick, the Licensing Deck, here: https://bit.ly/4jnBh5X.

BizTalk Server 2020 will be the final version of BizTalk Server

Microsoft has announced that BizTalk Server 2020 is the final version of its long-running workload integration product. Azure Logic Apps is positioned as the successor, ultimately replacing the 25-year-old traditional solution. Part of Azure Integration Services, Logic Apps is a cloud-based platform that lets you automate workflows across different systems. It connects apps and data in the cloud or on-premises, offering elastic scaling, AI integration, and support for modern DevOps practices. The more specialised component of BizTalk Server, Host Integration Server, will be made available as its own separate product, with an upcoming version 2028 providing integration between Microsoft and IBM systems. Support for BizTalk Server will remain available until April 2030, giving customers time to plan their migration.

You can learn more about Logic Apps here: https://bit.ly/4jAIFeu and find the official announcement here: https://bit.ly/3Lx30Vg.

Modern Work Plan Comparison documents

The January 2026 Modern Work Plan Comparison documents are now available, with no major changes. There’s no Education comparison for January 2026 yet, but as always, the latest PDFs for Enterprise, SMB, US Government, and Education sectors can be accessed in our new, searchable Licensing Guides Gallery: https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery, exclusive to our subscribers. Non-subscribers can find them in the usual place here: https://bit.ly/4hn2hS2.

If you’re a partner looking for the Excel version, please email info@licensingschool.co.uk from your work email address and we’ll send it over.