Category Archives: Uncategorized

Modern Work Plan Comparison documents

The Modern Work Plan Comparison documents are updated for June 2026.

Both the Enterprise and SMB flavours feature a handful of small adjustments this month. The change logs point out the addition of the Entra Suite, which reinforces its inclusion in Microsoft 365 E7. However, since it was already in the comparison matrix, this introduces duplication and some conflicting guidance on what you can add it to. The Government documents are untouched for June, and there’s no new release of the Education flavour.

Don’t forget that we help you navigate the (increasingly frequent) errors in these documents every month with our Cautionary Notes. You’ll find these using the one-click “Microsoft 365” filter in our subscriber-exclusive Licensing Guides Gallery, along with quick access to the documents and full change details: https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery. Non-subscribers can find the documents here: https://bit.ly/4hn2hS2. If you’re a partner and prefer the Excel version, contact us from your work email address and we’ll send it right over: info@licensingschool.co.uk.

Microsoft 365 July feature updates

Microsoft begin an early rollout of some of the July Microsoft 365 changes.

The updates, initially announced last December, include enhanced Copilot Chat features, increased Exchange Online storage, and new Intune capabilities for specific licences. Additionally, Office 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E3 licenses will newly incorporate Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 capabilities, and this rollout has started ahead of schedule.

You can find more details in the original announcement here: https://bit.ly/4qExvb8, and the early-rollout update here: https://bit.ly/43HZCfS.

Power Platform licensing resources

Microsoft have updated the Power Platform licensing resources for June 2026.

The Licensing Guide contains new information outlining Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies and how they protect sensitive company information. Towards the end of the guide the Terminology appendix delivers a wave of handy new Agent-related definitions. A few small wording tweaks round off this month’s changes to the guide, which pairs with an almost-untouched Licensing Deck.

The one-click “Power Platform” filter in our Licensing Guides Gallery gives subscribers quick access to every version of the licensing resources: https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery. You’ll also find details of all the changes to be aware (and wary) of with our “What’s New” and “Cautionary Notes” features. Grab your copy of the Licensing Guide here: https://bit.ly/3RYj997 and the Licensing Deck here: https://bit.ly/3RHggJS.

GitHub Enterprise Local public preview

Microsoft announce the public preview of GitHub Enterprise Local to enable organisations to deploy GitHub Enterprise Server entirely within a customer’s infrastructure using Azure Local.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/4xyesTL.

SQL Server 2016 ESUs

Microsoft announce a change for SQL Server Extended Security Updates (ESUs) as SQL Server 2016 approaches its End of Support date on 14 July, 2026.

ESUs are optional purchases that extend support by providing an additional three years of Critical updates for on‑premises and cloud‑based workloads. You can buy these as 1‑year ESU licences or through a Pay‑As‑You‑Go ESU meter via Azure Arc.

For SQL Server 2014, migrating SQL workloads to Azure removed the associated ESU costs. However, that’s no longer the case with SQL Server 2016, and instead ESUs are chargeable across all deployment options, including Azure VMs and Azure Stack. SQL Server 2016 ESUs are now available, providing coverage until July 2029.

For more details, you can read the blog announcement here: https://bit.ly/4enD0Yg. Subscribers can join us in July for in-depth training. Not yet a subscriber? Contact us at info@licensingschool.co.uk for details.

Copilot Credits Guide

Microsoft have released a brand-new Copilot Credits Guide!

While some sections are the same as the existing Licensing Guides for Copilot Studio, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform, this 12-page guide adds to that information with details of Copilot Cowork, Work IQ API, and some more guidance on AI administration.

You can grab your copy of the (increasingly rarely-published) PDF guide here: https://bit.ly/4esvZUM or view the website version here: https://bit.ly/44ov5Uz.

Free 30‑day trial for Microsoft 365 Copilot Business

Microsoft announce a free 30-day trial for Microsoft 365 Copilot Business.

Available from July 2026, customers can access the trial from within Copilot Chat without needing to enter any payment information. As with the full license, you must have a valid Microsoft 365 Business license in place, and there’s a maximum of 300 users.

While a readily available trial could be a cause for compliance concerns, Microsoft provide an overview of the considerations and recommend that you have AI usage guidelines in place. To assist with this, admins, as usual, have the ability to disable trials for users within the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Find the blog announcement here: https://bit.ly/4uvlSo4, the Message Centre post here: https://bit.ly/4uzcdgt, and the prerequisites for Microsoft 365 Copilot Business here: https://bit.ly/4amhBMq.

GitHub Pre-Purchase Plans

Microsoft announce two new GitHub Pre-Purchase Plans.

The first is just for GitHub AI Credits to pay for overage for GitHub Copilot, but the second covers usage across the GitHub portfolio – so you could cover monthly license costs for GitHub Enterprise or GitHub Copilot, as well as GitHub AI Credits.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/4a3NN7n.

Agent 365 updated prerequisites

Microsoft update the prerequisites for Agent 365 once again, with a mid-month change to the Product Terms.

Following the prerequisites added on June 1, 2026 (see our blog post here: https://bit.ly/3SjxSMa), the June 15 update adds further options:

• Microsoft 365 A5
• Microsoft Defender Suite and Microsoft Purview Suite
• Microsoft Defender Suite Edu and Microsoft Purview Suite Edu

A standout point here is that both the Defender AND Purview Suites are required, not just one or the other.

So the (current!) state of play means that alongside Microsoft 365 E5/A5 and Microsoft 365 Business Premium, the Frontline Worker, Education, and Enterprise flavours of the Defender and Purview Suites are all now valid prerequisites. But what about the SMB Defender and Purview Suite bundle? Although not officially listed in the Product Terms, the latest FAQs confirm that you do indeed need it for Agent 365 to work.

Find the Product Terms update here: https://bit.ly/4eaLnGt, the latest Agent 365 FAQs here: https://bit.ly/3QybL46, and a partner FAQ here: https://bit.ly/4uFAbGG.

Work IQ API is generally available

Microsoft have announced the general availability of Work IQ API from 16 June 2026.

Work IQ has been around for a while, providing the intelligence system that connects Microsoft 365 Copilot to an organisation’s internal Microsoft 365 data such as emails, chats, and documents that are exposed via Microsoft Graph. The news is the access to the Work IQ API external interface that lets developers build custom AI Agents outside the standard Microsoft 365 Copilot ecosystem, while providing those Agents access to the same insights you’d get with Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Consumption-based charges apply based on app and Agent Work IQ API calls, and on grounding in Microsoft 365 data. A static charge per call applies, paired with a variable cost based on the complexity of the request. Microsoft have introduced a new Cost Management Dashboard in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center to help IT admins review and manage charges and spend. Work IQ API usage is paid for using Copilot Credits, and no separate licence or SKU is required. The usual purchasing options apply: Pay-As-You-Go, Copilot Credits Capacity Packs, Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan, or an Agent Pre-Purchase Plan.

Find the customer announcement here: https://bit.ly/44h1WL1, the partner announcement (with some useful resources) here: https://bit.ly/4vaBZsh, an article with pricing scenarios here: https://bit.ly/3QgQETR, and extra details in a partner-only FAQ here: https://bit.ly/4ebpnv7.