April 2020 Online Services Terms updates

The very useful table on the last page of the Online Services Terms document which shows you which components are included in which Office 365 and Microsoft 365 plans is updated for April 2020.

The main changes are for the revised Firstline Worker plans with Office 365 F1 renamed to Office 365 F3, Microsoft 365 F1 renamed to Microsoft 365 F3, and the new Microsoft 365 F1 added. OneDrive for Business Plans 1 and 2 are added while some other components are removed, including the now discontinued Azure Information Protection Plan 2.

Find the Online Services Terms documents here: http://bit.ly/MSproductterms.

Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide

There’s an updated (April 2020) Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide with three main changes.

Firstly, there’s extra detail added to the Team Members use rights table on pages 32/33.

Then there’s a new Dynamics 365 IoT Intelligence Scenario section on pages 18/19 detailing the licensing for this new capability – the ability, for example, for a manufacturing system to detect machine failures through IoT signals and to generate an alert. 

Finally, the Base and Attach SKU table is updated on page 56 for the ability to use Sales/Customer Service Professional Attach licences with Business Central Base licences. As usual there’s a full change log on page 57.

Find this updated guide here: https://bit.ly/D365LGApr2020

Extension to SA voucher end dates

Microsoft announce a number of measures in response to the disruption caused by the coronavirus, including an extension to the end date of existing Deployment Planning Services and Training Vouchers.

Active vouchers created prior to 1 April, 2020 will be extended for an additional 90 days. In addition DPS engagements may now be carried out remotely.

Find details of this and other adjustments to end dates for competencies, certifications, and program qualifications here: https://bit.ly/2JR2gXD.  

Priority notifications for Teams promotion extended

Priority notifications for Teams grants users the ability to continually send notifications that repeat every two minutes for up to 20 minutes on all messages marked as urgent. Originally, priority notifications were available as a promotion to all Teams users until 1 April 2020, but this has been extended until the second half of 2020 to enable all users to connect urgently with their colleagues during the coronavirus pandemic.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/2V8flm5, and learn how to use priority notifications here: https://bit.ly/3cc9lOL.

Product Terms updated for the Microsoft Customer Agreement

The Microsoft Customer Agreement now governs a customer’s purchases through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program, replacing the Microsoft Cloud Agreement, and the April 2020 Product Terms document is updated to reflect this. So, for example, on page 60 it’s stated that rights to install Exchange, SharePoint and Skype for Business Server are included with a Microsoft 365 E3/E5 User SL, but NOT if these licences have been acquired under the Microsoft Cloud Agreement or Microsoft Customer Agreement.

Find the Product Terms documents here: http://bit.ly/MSproductterms.

Robotic Process Automation availability

Microsoft announce that Robotic Process Automation (RPA) capability is available from 2 April, 2020. RPA helps users to automate tasks by recording actions to be played back later, either with human interaction (known as “attended”) or without (“unattended”).

There are two new licences to support this functionality: a Power Automate per user plan with attended RPA at $40 per user per month, and an Unattended RPA Add-on at $150 per bot per month which must be added on to the Attended plan or a Power Automate per flow plan.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/34uD4A0, along with examples of RPA in action and an overview video.

Azure dev/test discounts for Windows Virtual Desktop

Microsoft announce that special discounts are now available for Windows Virtual Desktop used within an Azure dev/test Subscription. Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/2K0C6Sg. There’s also language added to page 56 of the April 2020 Product Terms document detailing the use rights of Windows Virtual Desktop in dev/test environments. Find the Product Terms documents here: http://bit.ly/MSproductterms.

Discontinuation of Azure Information Protection Plan 2

Azure Information Protection Plan 2 is being discontinued as a standalone offering. Page 6 of the April 2020 Product Terms document confirms that existing customers will continue to have access to the service for the term of their Subscription, and customers with true-up rights will continue to have the option to true-up for the term of their Enrolment. Find the Product Terms documents here: http://bit.ly/MSproductterms.

Azure Cost Management March update

The March roundup of the innovations added to Azure Cost Management includes a whole host of new ACM videos – find them on YouTube here: http://bit.ly/31RjZFy, and confirmation that Cloudyn will be deprecated at the end of 2020: https://bit.ly/3c7HrDx.

Read the full update post here: https://bit.ly/3a0eoQM for more details, and articles on topics such as new ways to save money with Azure and how rounding is handled.