What is Microsoft NCE? And why is this change so important?

Since January 10th, NCE (New Commerce Experience) has been available, aiming to standardize subscription criteria and affecting the prices of some solutions, as well as billing terms and dates. This may require a review of existing content, contracts, and agreements.


 

With the goal of placing the end customer at the center and streamlining licensing billing and contracting, Microsoft has launched the New Commerce Experience or NCE, as announced in the fall of 2021, to reduce the complexity associated with the Cloud Solution Provider program. This is expected to make management much simpler for all parties involved in license management.

 

This transition has marked a significant milestone since the last price increase a decade ago with Office 365, especially because NCE is expected to bring about a significant financial change for organizations by introducing new billing dates.

 

Therefore, we are talking about new changes related to:

  • The marketing of licenses and their associated prices

  • Flexibility in billing for the customer and their consumption plan

  • The new financial direction associated with contracting for businesses

 

What benefits can Microsoft's new NCE bring to companies?

  1. Gaining greater forecast of expenses and revenues

  2. Reducing the complexity associated with license procurement

 

Are there any key dates to be aware of?

  • From March 1st, MSFT will implement price changes in Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Dynamics 365 subscriptions.

  • From March 10th, New Commerce Experience will be the only way to sell to new customers.

  • From June 30th, NCE will be the only way to sell new subscriptions and renewals.

  • From July 2023, all remaining CSP Legacy subscriptions must be migrated to CSP NCE.

 

What notable changes do we observe between CSP Legacy VS CSP NCE?

 



 

What are the highlighted terms among the new NCE subscriptions?

 

Monthly Subscription:

  • It is 20% more expensive than the annual subscription

  • With this option, customers can increase, decrease, or change their subscription at the time of renewal.

  • The subscription price remains constant during the contract period and may fluctuate at the time of renewal.

Annual Subscription:

  • The number of contracted licenses can increase during the 36-month subscription period but cannot decrease in any case.

  • The subscription price remains constant during the contract period.

  • Billing can be prorated monthly with an annual commitment or with an upfront annual payment.

36-Month Subscription:

  • The number of contracted licenses can increase during the 36-month subscription period but cannot decrease in any case.

  • The subscription price remains constant during the contract period.

 

Renewal, Cancellation, and Suspension of NCE Subscriptions

 

Subscription Renewal:

  • Automatic renewal of the contract will occur, and it can be deactivated up to 72 hours after the renewal date.

 

Subscription Cancellation:

 

  • The subscription can be canceled or reduced with a prorated refund within the first 3 days (proration is calculated daily) and at the subscription renewal.

  • After 3 days, cancellation is no longer available, and the partner will be billed for the entire period.

  • The subscription immediately enters a "disabled" state.

  • End customer users cannot access services or files.

  • Administrators can access data for 90 days.

  • Cancellation cannot be reversed.

 

Subscription Suspension:

  • The subscription can be paused and resumed at any time without canceling it. However, billing continues during the suspension.

  • The subscription immediately enters a "disabled" state.

  • End customer users cannot access services or files.

  • If a customer's subscription is suspended, it will be in a suspended state for 90 days and can be reactivated within that period.

  • When a subscription is in a suspended state, a user cannot access files and services, but an administrator can access data.

  • Once the subscription has been in a suspended state for 90 days, it will move to a deleted state.

  • When a subscription is in a deleted state, the customer immediately loses access to the service, and it cannot be restored.

 

At Dynasoft, we specialize in licensing advice. Whether you need to purchase new licenses or renew them, contact us without obligation; we will be happy to help you.

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