{"id":519122,"date":"2025-08-19T07:37:58","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/?p=519122"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:02:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:02:12","slug":"microsoft-licensing-changes-november-2025-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/microsoft-licensing-changes-november-2025-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Licensing Changes November 2025 Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/licensing\/news\/online-services-pricing-consistency-update\">August 12, 2025<\/a>, Microsoft has a significant change to its Enterprise Agreement (EA) licensing structure \u2014 <strong>effective November 1, 2025, <\/strong>automatic price level discounts for Online Services (Levels B\u2013D) under EA, OSPA, and MPSA agreements will be eliminated. All eligible customers will pay the Level A list price, regardless of size or prior spend. This shift represents one of the most significant licensing changes in recent years and will impact the budgets and procurement strategies of thousands of organizations.  Effectively, Microsoft Ends EA Volume Discounts: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"whats-changing\">What&#8217;s Changing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>No More Automatic Discount Tiers:<\/strong> Microsoft is ending volume-based pricing bands (Levels B\u2013D) for Online Services including Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Windows 365, Azure, GitHub, and security\/compliance\/identity products. Everyone moves to Level A pricing \u2014 the public list price published on Microsoft.com.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Who is Affected?<\/strong> All commercial and government Enterprise Agreement customers (except U.S. Federal, state\/local government, and Education). This does not impact your on-premises software or Azure purchased via EA.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Timing:<\/strong> Discount bands disappear at renewal after November 1, or whenever you purchase new Online Services after that date. Pricing for products already on your Customer Price Sheet remains unchanged until renewal or new additions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-does-it-mean-to-you\">What Does It Mean To You?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Current EA Agreements:<\/strong> Pricing for products on your Customer Price Sheet today is fixed until the agreement\u2019s natural expiry\/renewal. Any new services added after November 1 are priced at Level A, regardless of historical discount band.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Financial Impact:<\/strong> Level D customers (the largest organizations) will see up to a 12.83% cost increase. For a $30 million annual EA, that\u2019s an extra $3.85 million\/year \u2014 or $11.5 million over a three-year term for the same products and quantities. Calling this \u201cpricing consistency\u201d hides a major price hike for top-tier clients.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Microsoft\u2019s Motivation:<\/strong> Many see this as a test of how far Microsoft can push cloud pricing while accelerating adoption of strategic offerings like Azure, M365 E5, Copilot, Viva, and Power Platform. As the cloud industry standardizes pricing, discounts for scale disappear.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Renewal and Negotiation:<\/strong> Your account manager or director may advocate on your behalf, but true discount authority now resides with your CPS partner and Microsoft reps. Any significant concessions (\u201cdiscounts\u201d) will likely come with strings attached \u2014 such as accelerated adoption of Microsoft\u2019s strategic cloud products. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"key-takeaways\">Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Review your current licensing agreements, assess budget impact, and begin conversations with senior Microsoft stakeholders. Strategic alignment and forward planning are now essential to control costs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All EA customers lose automatic volume discounts for Online Services after November 1, 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Large organizations could face millions in additional costs upon renewal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Negotiated discounts may be possible but likely require broader cloud adoption or other commitments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Review, plan, and engage senior Microsoft leadership well ahead of renewal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"references\">References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.directionsonmicrosoft.com\/microsoft-is-dropping-ea-volume-discounts-starting-in-november-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.directionsonmicrosoft.com\/microsoft-is-dropping-ea-volume-discounts-starting-in-november-2025\/\">Microsoft Is Dropping EA Volume Discounts Starting in November 2025\u00a0 &#8211; Directions on Microsoft<\/a><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.shi.com\/business-of-it\/microsofts-november-licensing-shift-what-it-means-for-ea-customers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft&#8217;s November licensing shift: What it means for EA customers<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.longviewsystems.com\/blog\/microsoft-price-level-changes-for-online-services-effective-november-1-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft Price Level Changes for Online Services<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.connection.com\/preparing-for-microsoft-volume-licensing-price-level-changes-a-guide-to-the-november-2025-update\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Preparing for Microsoft Volume Licensing Price Level Changes<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.directionsonmicrosoft.com\/microsoft-is-dropping-ea-volume-discounts-starting-in-november-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft Is Dropping EA Volume Discounts Starting in November 2025<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wavenet.co.uk\/blog\/microsoft-ends-ea-volume-discounts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft is removing EA volume discounts &#8211; what you need to know<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/microsoft-ea-price-level-changes-2025-b-c-d-discounts-7zz4f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft EA Price Level Changes in 2025 \u2013 Level B, C, and D<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.softcat.com\/blog\/microsofts-pricing-update-what-november-2025-means-your-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft&#8217;s pricing update: what November 2025 means for your business<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bcn.co.uk\/resources\/microsoft-volume-licensing-discounts-changes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft Volume Licensing Discounts Changes 2025 &#8211; BCN<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crn.com\/news\/cloud\/2025\/microsoft-to-end-certain-volume-licensing-discounts-in-potential-csp-boost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft To End Certain Volume-Licensing Discounts In Potential CSP Boost<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do you have ideas of comments? <\/h2>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading517671_7a57f6-b7, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading517671_7a57f6-b7[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading517671_7a57f6-b7\"]{font-size:var(--global-kb-font-size-md, 1.25rem);font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading517671_7a57f6-b7 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading517671_7a57f6-b7[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading517671_7a57f6-b7\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading517671_7a57f6-b7 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading517671_7a57f6-b7[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading517671_7a57f6-b7\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading517671_7a57f6-b7 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading517671_7a57f6-b7\">Please let me know!   Send me a note to my X account: <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jorper98\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jorper98\">@jorper98<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-template-part\"><style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_c650df-47, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_c650df-47[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading395113_c650df-47\"]{text-align:center;font-size:var(--global-kb-font-size-md, 1.25rem);line-height:60px;font-style:normal;background-color:#f5a511;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_c650df-47 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_c650df-47[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading395113_c650df-47\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_c650df-47 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_c650df-47[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading395113_c650df-47\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading395113_c650df-47 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading395113_c650df-47\">Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/go.35s.be\/jtb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>JorgeTechBits  newsletter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b>: \u00a0I work for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dell.com\/en-us\/work\/learn\/by-service-type-deployment\">Dell Technology Services<\/a> as a Workforce Transformation Solutions Principal.\u00a0 \u00a0 It is my passion to help guide organizations\u00a0through the current technology transition specifically as it relates to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.delltechnologies.com\/en-us\/what-we-do\/workforce-transformation.htm\">Workforce Transformation<\/a>.\u00a0 Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.delltechnologies.com\/en-us\/index.htm\">Dell Technologies<\/a>\u00a0site for more information.\u00a0 Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.<\/div>\n<div><\/div><br>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On August 12, 2025, Microsoft has a significant change to its Enterprise Agreement (EA) licensing structure \u2014 effective November 1, 2025, automatic price level discounts for Online Services (Levels B\u2013D) under EA, OSPA, and MPSA agreements will be eliminated. All eligible customers will pay the Level A list price, regardless of size or prior spend&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[681,441],"tags":[984,13,730,742],"class_list":["post-519122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-moderneuc2","category-tech-talk","tag-licensing","tag-microsoft","tag-microsoft-365","tag-moderneuc1"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":681,"label":"ModernEUC"},{"value":441,"label":"Tech Talk"}],"post_tag":[{"value":984,"label":"Licensing"},{"value":13,"label":"Microsoft"},{"value":730,"label":"Microsoft 365"},{"value":742,"label":"ModernEUC"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/microsoft-365-2-940x360-1.jpg",940,360,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Jorge Pereira","author_link":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/author\/jorge\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":681,"name":"ModernEUC","slug":"moderneuc2","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":691,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":261,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":681,"category_count":261,"category_description":"","cat_name":"ModernEUC","category_nicename":"moderneuc2","category_parent":0},{"term_id":441,"name":"Tech Talk","slug":"tech-talk","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":451,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":668,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":441,"category_count":668,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Tech Talk","category_nicename":"tech-talk","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":984,"name":"Licensing","slug":"licensing","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":994,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":13,"name":"Microsoft","slug":"microsoft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":112,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":43,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":730,"name":"Microsoft 365","slug":"microsoft-365","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":740,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":45,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":742,"name":"ModernEUC","slug":"moderneuc1","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":752,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":284,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519122"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":519123,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519122\/revisions\/519123"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}