What is the New Commerce Experience (NCE)? 

In January 2022, Microsoft launched the New Commerce Experience (NCE). This change impacted the way customers purchase and manage their licenses through their Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) Program.

The NCE is intended to reduce complexity and provide cost savings for long-term commitments, whilst introducing features to make a CSP a comparable alternative to the previous Enterprise Agreement (EA).

What’s changing in 2024?

From the 1^st of March 2024, education and nonprofit offers will now be launched in the new commerce system. These new offers will be released in monthly waves or batches between March and May 2024, with Wave 1 containing offers with the highest customer value.

Subscription options for NCE

With the launch of NCE in 2022, Microsoft introduced new monthly subscriptions to run alongside any annual subscription, allowing you to save on any future cost increase by committing to the coming years.  Here’s a summary of the three subscriptions available through NCE:

Monthly subscription

With the NCE you will have the ability to purchase your Microsoft 365 licences on a monthly basis without an annual commitment. Microsoft is now offering this to provide flexibility to customers who need to make monthly changes to their Microsoft 365 or Office 365 license plans and seat count. This subscription does come at a 20% price increase across all licence plans.

12-month subscription

Through the NCE, you’ll have the opportunity to commit to your licences through a 12-month subscription. Unlike the legacy CSP model customers who consume on a 12-month subscription, you will have the option to be billed on a monthly or annual basis.

With the 12-month subscription, your pricing will be locked in for the entire term – allowing you to benefit from the additional cost savings of any price increases due in that time. This subscription will allow you to increase but not decrease the seat count.

36-month subscription

Microsoft is introducing a Multi-Year Pricing to the NCE, allowing you to secure 3-year pricing for longer-term licencing commitments. With this subscription, you’ll have the option to be billed monthly, annually or upfront. This subscription will allow you to increase but not decrease the seat count.

What should you do about NCE? 

It is recommended that you speak to us about moving to the NCE as soon as possible to leverage the discounts available.

The NCE is also a good opportunity to audit the current licences you have to make sure you are not paying for licences you don’t need or paying a premium for features you’re not using. We have a variety of tools to do a licence optimisation review with you and can even advise which licences you may want an annual and monthly commitment on to maximise your savings. Speak to us about our licence audit options.

Will Microsoft-led migrations take place?

Microsoft will begin migrating offers remaining in the legacy system starting with offers that are renewing from the 1^st of July 2024 and continuing throughout 2024 and 2025 on the date of a subscription renewal.

To make your transition to NCE smoother, we recommend reaching out to us if we haven’t already reached out to you directly. This will enable us to plan out details that are important to you, such as a monthly term versus an annual term for the subscription and making changes to seat count. Get in touch to make sure there are no surprises when you transition to the NCE.

Will there be promotions available to assist with NCE migrations?

Yes, nonprofit customers who meet the nonprofit grants and credits eligibility requirements and are transitioning to new commerce will be eligible for new promotional offers. These offers will provide a 16.67% discount to nonprofit customers who choose to start in new commerce with a monthly commitment to any of the listed products. This promotional period will run from March 1 to November 30, 2024.

Partner with a Microsoft 365 expert 

As one of Microsoft’s closest partners, thanks to our Azure Expert MSP status and 15 other accreditations, we’re here to help you navigate the New Commerce Experience. We want to ensure you’re getting the most from your licences and leverage the licencing discounts available. Sound good? Simply get in touch to speak with one of our experts.

Already a customer of ours? Speak to your account manager to discuss the best options for your licencing.