Category Archives: Uncategorized

Updates to the Agent Pre-Purchase Plan

The Agent Pre-Purchase Plan was launched back in November 2025 to make it easier to buy consumption units for Agents created through Microsoft Foundry and/or Copilot Studio. You buy 20,000, 100,000 or 500,000 Agent Commit Units and then have a year to use them on any of the supported services. What’s new? From February 2026 Microsoft Fabric and GitHub Copilot are added to the list of services that the ACUs can be used on.

This is a good overview article explaining how the Pre-Purchase Plan works with some good diagrams, including the list of supported services: https://bit.ly/4uonAJ0.

Dynamics 365 licensing resources

There are new (March 2026) Dynamics 365 licensing resources now available. In the Licensing Guide, there’s a slightly overdue clean up of references to Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales and Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service, following their integration into Microsoft 365 Copilot. The Licensing Deck provides information and pricing about a new Step-up from Customer Service Enterprise to Customer Service Premium in the Step-up Options table on page 41.

Grab the Licensing Guide here: https://bit.ly/3MFAIc5 and the supplementary Licensing Deck here: https://bit.ly/4cnMWjZ.

Modern Work Plan Comparison documents

The March 2026 Modern Work Plan Comparison documents have been refreshed, with the exception of the Education flavour, which remains unchanged since December 2025. The first change is the renaming of Exchange Online Protection to “Built-in security Add-on for cloud mailboxes”. It’s a rather confusing name that inaccurately describes it and inconsistently appears under two other guises on the Microsoft websites and price lists.

There’s some updated housekeeping on retention policies, with the Purview Suites updated to correctly show their inclusion, mirroring recently updated Learn documentation. The latest PDFs for Enterprise, SMB, US Government, and Education sectors can be accessed in our searchable Licensing Guides Gallery: https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery.

Click the “Microsoft 365” filter to view the documents and full details of What’s New and any Cautionary Notes – a feature exclusive to our subscribers. Non-subscribers can find them here: https://bit.ly/4hn2hS2. Partners looking for the Excel version can email info@licensingschool.co.uk from your work email address, and we’ll send it right over.

New Windows 365 devices

Microsoft announce new ASUS and Dell Cloud PC devices for Windows 365. They’re due in the third quarter of 2026 and are compact, streamlined, and optimised to boot straight to Windows 365, receiving automatic updates and managed via Microsoft Intune. These offerings extend the Cloud PC device range beyond Microsoft’s own Windows 365 Link, which was the first of its kind.

Find the details here: https://bit.ly/3OHxvcA.

New Windows and Windows Server ESUs

Microsoft have announced that three products released in 2016 will receive Extended Security Updates for up to three years.

The first two are Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSB 2016, which have an End of Support date of 13 October 2026, and, finally, Windows Server 2016, with an End of Support date of 12 January 2027. The Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 Extended Security Updates will be available via Volume Licensing and CSP, while the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSB 2016 Extended Security Updates will be offered only through IoT OEMs.

Pricing and availability details for Windows Server 2016 are forthcoming, but all the current information including some pricing can be found in the Windows IT Pro Blog: https://bit.ly/4spqXhm.

Microsoft Copilot Studio Licensing Guide

There’s a new (March 2026) Copilot Studio Licensing Guide. It has fleshed-out detail on the recently introduced Agent Pre-Purchase Plan, which covers use of Copilot Studio and Microsoft Foundry, making it feel front and centre of the available options.

The methods for purchasing Copilot Credits are now in the Licensing Overview section, rather than beside the purchasing channels in the How to Buy section. This change has resulted in a rather nice side-by-side summary of the purchasing options being removed and scattered elsewhere. Whilst most wording and phrasing tweaks are only minor, one change raises an eyebrow: the Copilot Credits Capacity Pack is now (mostly) referred to as the “Copilot Credit pack” – a term not consistently found in other documentation.

Grab your copy here: https://bit.ly/4rboIx4. Subscribers can now view the details of “What’s New” and read the “Cautionary Notes” in our Licensing Guides Gallery: https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery.

Fabric Capacity Overage

Microsoft announce that Fabric Capacity Overage will be an opt-in feature in Microsoft Fabric to automatically bill for excess capacity on a Pay-As-You-Go basis, and thus protect capacities from being throttled.

Expect to see this in public preview this quarter, and check out the Fabric roadmap for more details: https://bit.ly/4kFaAKV.

Agent Cost Management Whitepaper

There’s an updated (February 2026) Agent Cost Management Whitepaper – a useful document helping you to understand some of the key topics in getting started with Agents. There’s some good information on the different ways to buy and set up Copilot Credits, as well as help on monitoring costs and applying cost controls. This latest version is updated with the Copilot Credits Pre-Purchase Plan, including instructions on how to set this up and how it can be combined with other ways of purchasing Copilot Credits.

There’s also improved information on setting up who can create and use Agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. Find this updated guide here: https://bit.ly/4rJ0LOd.

Azure Purchasing Models Licensing Guide

There’s a new Azure Purchasing Models Licensing Guide available. Designed to make it easier to understand the different purchasing choices, it’s a great idea for a guide, but slightly misses the mark, with mixed up terms, sections, and incorrect facts throughout. We’re now documenting these “Cautionary Notes” in our Licensing Guides Gallery for subscribers, so you can grab the guide and see these details all in one place. Check out these new features here: https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery, or find a direct link to the guide here: https://bit.ly/49ZMTJw.

Understanding the right purchasing options in Azure is a really useful topic, and it’s inspired our training next month – watch this space!

SQL Server 2025 Editions Datasheet

We’ve uncovered a rather-useful SQL Server 2025 Editions Datasheet. It’s a three-page PDF with a history of additions throughout the versions, as well as edition comparisons for version 2025. It concisely covers how the Express, Standard, and Enterprise editions stack up, including their Developer counterparts. Summarised with a technical feature matrix on the final page, this is definitely a datasheet to keep handy. Grab your copy now: https://bit.ly/4s9yu3G.

Subscribers can, of course, find a copy in our complete collection, over at the Licensing Guides Gallery: https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery.