We have been on the lookout for Licensing Guides again and discovered a few program-related resources, including some Licensing Guides that haven’t been refreshed in many years!
You’ll find new uploads for the Enterprise Agreement, Server and Cloud Enrollment, SPLA, and Select Plus in the Licensing Guides section of our website: https://bit.ly/MSLicensingGuides.
Microsoft Configuration Manager is moving from a semi-annual to an annual release cadence starting with version 2609 (September 2026). This shift aims to provide better long-term stability, with each version receiving 18 months of support. While Configuration Manager will continue to support on-premises devices, all new innovations will be focused on Microsoft Intune.
Check out the details and support lifecycle here: https://bit.ly/3K8HENk and a useful FAQ about Configuration Manager branches here: https://bit.ly/49xJdyL.
Agents Agents everywhere! It really does feel like there are new Agents being launched every day. From a licensing perspective, for the Agents that work with the Dynamics 365 products you need a license for the specific Dynamics 365 App as well as access to Copilot Credits. To that end, from November 25, 2025, Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise, Customer Service Enterprise, Finance, and Supply Chain Management licenses will include 1,000 Copilot Credits per user. These will be pooled at the tenant level and customers will be notified that the Copilot Credits have been added.
Find the information in this Partner Alert: https://bit.ly/4poCsEh.
Oracle announce their new thing: Multicloud Universal Credits. Why’s it interesting? Well, it’s a new licensing option that will enable customers to procure Oracle services more easily in the cloud of their choice. So, you’ll be able to use these Multicloud Universal Credits for Oracle Database in Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud.
Find out more in the Oracle press release here: https://bit.ly/4rdFWv4.
Microsoft announce the general availability of SQL Server 2025! Unsurprisingly, there’s a heavy focus on its AI-powered enterprise database capabilities, and important updates to security and performance. Other key changes include Power BI Report Server becoming the default reporting solution, no 2025 version of the Web edition, and a new Standard Developer Edition joining the lineup.
The long-awaited announcement can be found here: https://bit.ly/47N1XsO.
The general availability of Visual Studio 2026 is accompanied by an updated Licensing Guide. There aren’t big changes to the licensing so there are just a couple of small corresponding updates to the guide. For example, the Visual Studio Cloud subscriptions that you pay for through an Azure Subscription were previously called Cloud subscriptions, and now they’re known as Monthly subscriptions. Other changes include clarification where you’re not allowed to use Listed Providers’ infrastructure, and the removal of references to Team Explorer Everywhere since it’s no longer maintained by Microsoft.
You can help yourself to this updated guide here: https://bit.ly/4pan1PY.
Microsoft announce the end of support for Office Online Server, effective December 31, 2026. The software, which lets an organisation use browser-based Office applications from an on-premises server host, won’t receive any more security updates, bug fixes, or technical support from this date. The recommended alternative is, of course, Microsoft 365, for its collaboration, security, and integration with other Microsoft services.
Read the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3JTnTJK.
There’s a new (November 2025) Copilot Studio Licensing Guide available. Some key changes include Code Interpreter now being generally available, and the renaming of AI Builder capabilities. However, the rather useful section on Computer Use has also been removed, and the guide erroneously states that it’s now generally available.
Find the guide here: https://bit.ly/47MOQ9Y.
Dynamics 365 Guides and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist are no longer available to order and will reach end of support without further updates on December 31, 2026. Microsoft recommend customers explore the mixed reality solutions available on the Microsoft Marketplace instead or, for certain Remote Assist scenarios, use the spatial annotation feature within Microsoft Teams Mobile.
You can find more details in this article: https://bit.ly/4piGga0.
Microsoft introduce Microsoft 365 Business Premium for GCC-High. This offering, aimed at suppliers to US government organisations, provides robust security and compliance features for up to 500 (not 300!) users. It helps meet complex compliance requirements like the CMMC, providing essential enterprise-grade capabilities for smaller organisations in regulated environments.
Find out more here: https://bit.ly/4r4Y6is.