There has been a lot of notification about this increase, as far back as August of 2021, and it is finally here. As of March 1, Microsoft 365 pricing has gone up. As a managed service provider, we know this change will affect many companies in our Miami area and beyond. 

It is not an all-across-the-board increase for every business or industry.  The price increase is set to only affect commercial licenses, not educational or consumer licenses. Here’s how it stacks up:

New Microsoft 365 Pricing starting March 2022

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic will be $6 per user (was $5).
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium will be $22 per user (was $20).
• Office 365 E1 will be $10 per user (was $8).
• Office 365 E3 will be $23 per user (was $20).
• Office 365 E5 will be $38 per user (was $35).
• Microsoft 365 E3 will be $36 per user (was $32).

The Reason for the Increases? It’s Time.

Prices have been the same ever since MS 365 was launched in 2011. In those 10 years, Microsoft’s costs, as well as other providers, have increased because of hardware shortages and because of the need to increase data security. Here is a look at some of the elements and benefits of MS 365.

Microsoft Teams 

Launched in 2017,  MS Teams is the only integrated solution where you can meet, chat, call, collaborate and automate business processes — with the power of the Office apps—all within the flow of work. In 2020, 300 new capabilities were introduced including Together mode, background effects, large gallery view, raise hand, live reactions, breakout rooms, live captions with speaker attribution, Fluid components and more.

Security and Compliance 

Since Microsoft 365 was first introduced, additions have been added such as: 

• Surface reduction capabilities to help organizations defend against ransomware and other threats.
• Data loss prevention (DLP) for email and documents, sensitivity labels and message encryption to help keep important data within the organization.
• Powerful compliance capabilities that help organizations reduce risk and respond to increasing regulatory requirements such as Content Search, eDiscovery and core Litigation Hold. 
• Built-in mobile device management (MDM) and other management tools like Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which helps admins support remote and hybrid workforces.

AI and Automation

AI-powered  innovations have been introduced to help users be better writers, designers and presenters. 

• Cloud-powered AI now automatically creates maps, charts and tables in Excel, and sorts email and removes clutter in Outlook. 
• The new AI-powered real-time translation, captions and transcription make collaboration and communication more accessible and engaging for everyone.

More New Apps and Capabilities Coming

Microsoft promises that more apps and capabilities like their unlimited dial-in conferencing for Microsoft Teams will be available for the next few months for business, enterprise, government and frontline suites. According to the company, “this additional feature will strengthen the foundation of Microsoft’s communication and collaboration tools as they can be accessed on the go without internet connection.”

Bottom Line on Microsoft 365 Pricing 

As a managed service provider, the Internos Group purchases software  licenses like Microsoft for businesses and combines them into a monthly fixed fee so businesses have predictable and dependable costs. Because of the Microsoft 365 pricing increase, your monthly Internos invoice will increase but not due to the cost of your Internos support services. 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us or book a meeting, virtually or in person.