Microsoft has introduced a New Commerce Experience (NCE) for its license-based services. The New Commerce Experience offers more flexibility and capabilities when purchasing and managing products like M365 and other services.
These changes arrived in January of this year, and as of March 10th, all new subscriptions will be provisioned using the New Commerce Experience. As of July 1st, any renewals must be renewed in New Commerce Experience. If your renewal date is 7/1/22 or after, you must renew through Microsoft’s New Commerce Experience.
Key Differences Between CSP and NCE Licensing
- Pricing – There will be no changes to pricing unless you choose to have a month-to-month plan. In CSP (the legacy licensing), you could pay monthly or annually, which was the exact cost. With NCE, if you opt to stick with monthly, there is a 20% premium charge.
- Cancellation Options – In CSP, we could offer a prorated refund on any cancellations at any time. With NCE, you receive a prorated refund only within the first 72 hours of the subscription purchase or renewal.
- Trials – There was a manual conversion to a paid subscription in CSP. In NCE, you get auto-converted to a paid subscription.
- Terms – In CSP, it was always annual terms, even if you paid monthly. In NCE, you can opt for monthly, annual, and multi-year.
Sources: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/news/new-azure-experience-in-csp