Windows 10 Enterprise Changes

From 1 August 2016 there are changes to the Windows 10 edition line-up: you can still buy Windows 10 Enterprise but there are now also E3 and E5 editions. So, what’s the story here? Well, Windows 10 Enterprise E3 is the new name for Windows 10 Enterprise + SA, and Windows 10 Enterprise E5 adds Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection on top of E3. Both editions are available on per user or a per device basis – check out this page for the details: http://bit.ly/2bgmb2L.

Then take a look at page 37 of the August 2016 Product Terms document to see the new SKUs that are available. Of particular note are the Add-ons which allow you to move between editions and licensing models. This means that you can go from E3 per device to E5 per device, or from E3 per device to E3 per user, or from E3 per user to E5 per user, and you’ll find the rules for these Add-on licences detailed on page 41. In addition, if organisations have fully paid licences for Windows with active SA then they can purchase E3/E5 From SA User SLs instead of SA to move to a user licensing model for Windows (page 42).

It’s also worth mentioning at this point that there are some changes with MDOP with two of the components (Application Virtualization (App-V) and User Environment Virtualization (UE-V)) now part of Windows 10 Enterprise. This Microsoft site is useful for the detail on this: http://bit.ly/2aYEcAi.

Secure Productive Enterprise Plans

Microsoft give some more detail on the Secure Productive Enterprise plans which will replace the Enterprise Cloud Suite.

Firstly, there’s news that licensed users will be allowed one on-premises install of Office Professional Plus, and then there’s confirmation that SPE E3 and E5 will be available through the EA and MPSA at launch in the fourth quarter of 2016, and then later through CSP too.

Read the full announcement here: http://bit.ly/2aaKDR7.

Microsoft Hosting and CSP Newsletter

The December 2015 Hosting and Cloud Service Provider newsletter is out.

It’s got links to recent topics of interest in the hosting world: the launch of E5, licensing changes for Windows Server and System Center 2016, and the changes to Licence Mobility for SA rights which allow customers to fail-over to shared hardware.

There are also links to useful CSP resources and the next quarterly licensing webcast on 20 January, 2016.

Sign up for this free newsletter here: http://bit.ly/1iVEvxV.

Office 365 plans in the MPSA

E5 is the new Office 365 plan which arrived in December 2015 and it’s available through commercial and government Volume Licensing programs. This includes the MPSA – but what product pool is it in? Servers? Applications? Half and half? The December 2015 Product Terms is updated to remove the ambiguity around this question and you can see it’s the Applications pool on page 58.

Product Pools

E5 Arrives!

It’s December 1st and Office 365 E5 is added to the December 2015 Product Terms as expected. Page 58 tells us that there will be a full USL, an Add-on USL, and a From SA USL, with availability through the different Volume Licensing programs matching that of its best buddy E3.

If you’re not sure what’s in this brand new suite, then head over to the December 2015 Online Services Terms document where the table on page 26 has been updated to show the various components.

Many of these components are new (Office 365 Delve Analytics for example), and these are added to the Product Terms as standalone licences too.

Additions to CRM Online Licences

Microsoft announce new ways for customers to acquire Office 365, Power BI and CRM Online.

Firstly, there will be a CRM Online Professional Add-on to Office 365 E3, E5 and Business Premium, which will cost $50 per user per month.

Then we can also expect to see a new, low-cost Employee Self-Service licence for CRM Online.

You can find the announcement, along with information on the new features of CRM 2016, here: http://bit.ly/1GTderi.