Tag Archives: Microsoft 365 E3

Modern Work Plan Comparison documents

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

Naturally, the main changes this month are due to the extra features which have been added to a range of licenses. These include Copilot Chat enhancements, the addition of Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 to Office 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E3, an extra 50 GB mailbox storage for the SMB licences, and new Intune features for Microsoft 365 E3/E5 licenses. Advanced Threat Analytics was also removed this month, since it reached End of Support in January 2026.

There are July versions of the documents for Enterprise, SMB, Education, and US Government customers which you can find here: https://bit.ly/4hn2hS2. If you’re a subscriber, 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. 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 packaging and pricing changes for July 2026

The July 2026 Microsoft 365 pricing and feature changes are now live!

The updates include the addition of Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 to the Office 365/Microsoft 365 E3 licenses, broader Intune features for Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, and an extra 50 GB of mailbox storage for the Microsoft 365 Business plans. Microsoft are updating their documentation for the new capabilities that coincide with the expected price increases.

Don’t forget our subscriber-exclusive interactive tools to assist with these changes:

• The Office 365/Microsoft 365 Plan Picker helps you choose the right plan based on specified features: https://bit.ly/PlanPicker
• Our Product Price Plotter helps you track exactly which licenses are affected by the price changes: https://bit.ly/ProductPricePlotter
• Use the Licensing Guides Gallery (https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery) to view the history of changes to the Subscription License Suites website, which Microsoft are currently updating to reflect the changes: https://bit.ly/4cqn6v9

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.

3-year Subscriptions in CSP

Microsoft announce the intention of making 3-year terms available for Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 in CSP from 1 June, 2025. These subscriptions will be available with Teams for existing customers, and without Teams for new or existing customers who’ll also be able to buy 3-year Teams Enterprise licences, if required. There will be a minimum requirement of 100 licences for all subscriptions. In addition, Microsoft 365 E5 Security and Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance are expected to be available from 1 July, 2025

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/439eSmw, and an FAQ for partners here: https://bit.ly/4ksYJ0Y.

Microsoft 365 E3 – Unattended Licensing Brief

There’s an updated (June 2022) Microsoft 365 E3 – Unattended Licensing Brief. This document helps you to understand how the Microsoft 365 E3 – Unattended licence allows a bot to run repetitive tasks in a Windows client/Office app without user intervention, with a useful FAQ section at the end.

This updated version has minor changes updating it for Windows 11, and you can find it here: https://bit.ly/3QcSijt.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 1

Microsoft announced back in August 2021 that Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 would be available in a couple of different ways (see our blog: https://bit.ly/3LsJmF5).

Here’s the update: in November 2021 it was made available as a separate SKU for use on up to 5 devices for $3 per user per month – this is the announcement with a useful chart comparing it to Plan 2: https://bit.ly/3u4quG7. And the second part of the plan came together in January 2022 with Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 now being automatically included in Microsoft 365 E3 licences, and you can find that announcement here: https://bit.ly/33VsPbN.

Azure Virtual Desktop

Microsoft announce that Windows Virtual Desktop is now Azure Virtual Desktop. There are a whole host of new features in preview, as well as a new licensing option. Historically, users licensed with Microsoft 365 E3/E5/F3/Business Premium or Windows 10 E3/E5 or Windows 10 VDA E3/E5 licenses have rights to the service for virtual desktops and apps. Now, there’s a per user option for external users which is a monthly per user price of $5.50 for apps, or $10 for apps + desktops, with a no-cost promotional period from 14 July, 2021 to 31 December, 2021.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3v4aa56.

Microsoft 365 E3 – Unattended Licensing Brief

There’s an updated (November 2020) Microsoft 365 E3 – Unattended Licensing Brief.

This document helps you to understand how the Microsoft 365 E3 – Unattended licence allows a bot to run repetitive tasks in a Windows client/Office app without user intervention. The document has a useful FAQ section at the end and this new version adds a few additional questions clarifying the requirement for the licence in situations where there is already a Windows licence and for scenarios where third party providers are implementing unattended scenarios.

Find this updated document here: https://bit.ly/37mfx7n.

Microsoft 365 E3 – Unattended licence

Microsoft announce a new flavour of Microsoft 365 E3 – one that you can assign to a Bot to run repetitive tasks without user intervention.

The May 2020 Online Services Terms gives the low-down on the licensing: the Bot may use the suite in a physical or virtual machine including Windows Virtual Desktop, licence reassignment follows the same rules as if the Bot were a (real) user, and it’s an (illegal) multiplexing scenario if the Bot carries out activities on behalf of an unlicensed user or device.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3d9zqhW, and get the current Online Services Terms here: http://bit.ly/MSproductterms.

Update on Microsoft 365 From SA rights

Microsoft announce that they will not now remove the special Office Professional Plus installation rights that customers are currently entitled to with Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 From SA licences. The current rights are detailed on page 54 of the May 2019 Product Terms, and this announcement confirms that the rights are here to stay rather than being removed after 1st August 2019: http://bit.ly/2W7q4PN.