What is the Microsoft New Commerce Experience (NCE)?
It was initially announced back in 2019 with Azure as a simplified journey for both the customer and the partner to transact a consistent and standardized purchase motion. With this latest improvement, New Commerce Experience is transitioning subscriptions like Office 365, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Windows 365, Power Platform and more to the same purchase process. This allows for a more consistent purchase experience across multiple Microsoft platforms.
With this update comes a series of important changes that Microsoft Partners (such as CisCom Solutions) and businesses need to be aware of. Look below for the timeline of key dates to be aware of followed by FAQs. Be sure to bookmark this page for future references as this information is subject to change the more details are released.
TIMELINE
January 10th, 2022
Launch of Microsoft’s general availability of NCE for Modern Work and Dynamics 365 to CSP re-sellers. Microsoft will also offer two time-bound promotions to incentivize migration from CSP legacy to NCE.
March 1st, 2022
Several Microsoft 365 and Office 365 products will increase in price. See FAQs below the timeline for details.
March 10th, 2022
All new subscriptions for Modern Work and Dynamics will be required to be procured through the NCE Platform.
July 1st, 2022
All renewal subscriptions for Modern Work and Dynamics will be required to be procured through NCE Platform.
January 1st, 2023
Microsoft incentives only available for NCE transactions.
July 2023
All remaining legacy subscriptions must be moved to the New Commerce Experience.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are the term options when purchasing on New Commerce Experience?
- Monthly - Subscriptions will be held to a monthly commitment
- Annual - Subscriptions will be held to an annual commitment
- Multi-year - Subscriptions will be held to a multi-year commitment
Is there a premium for monthly commitments?
Yes, all monthly commitments will have a 20% premium. To accelerate the adoption of the New Commerce Experience, Microsoft will be offering a promo for the monthly term to be billed at the regular annual term price which will remove the 20% premium through June 2022.
Can I make changes to the seat count on an annual or multi-year commitment?
You will have 72 hours from the time of purchase to decrease their seat counts for a subscription. Customers can at any
point during their commitment increase their seat count for an existing subscription.
What is the cancellation policy for subscriptions on New Commerce Experience?
Customers have 3 days after purchasing to cancel a subscription. Customers will receive a full refund if the subscription is
cancelled on Day 1 and will receive a pro-rated refund for subscriptions cancelled on Days 2 and 3. The 3-day period
begins on the same day a customer starts a subscription and no refunds will be granted after the 3 -day period. Once a
subscription is canceled, this cannot be reversed. The subscription will immediately enter a "disabled" status where users
cannot access services or files, however admins will have to access to data for subscription(s) for 90 days.
What is the renewal date for newly added seats to a subscription on New Commerce Experience?
The renewal date for the newly added seats will match the original renewal date for that subscription.
Can monthly term subscriptions be changed to annual term?
Yes, a customer’s subscription can be changed from a monthly term to an annual term in New Commerce Experience.
The following month’s reconciliation file will reflect the billing difference.
If customers who are purchasing through Microsoft direct want to move to Indirect CSP or are purchasing from one MSP
and want to move to another, will they have to wait until the renewal period to change channel to avoid duplicate billing?
Change of Channel can only be done without penalty during the renewal period. If a change of channel is done within
the term, the customer is responsible for full payment of their agreement.
Are there price changes to the SKUs included in New Commerce Experience?
While there are no price changes related to the expansion of New Commerce Experience, Microsoft has announced
price increases to the following SKUs starting on March 1st, 2022:
• Enterprise SKUs
Office 365 E1
Office 365 E3
Office 365 E5
Microsoft 365 E3
• SMB SKUs
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
• NOTE: Prices for Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, & Frontline SKUs will not be changing at this time.
These price changes will impact all public sector customers worldwide. Purchasing channels for Nonprofit solutions is
not changing at this time.
If a customer decides to upgrade a subscription to a different SKU, what are my options?
In the New Commerce Experience, upgrading means going from one paid subscription to another paid subscription.
You can upgrade all seats as a full upgrade or some of the seats as a partial upgrade. It is important to know that
subscription upgrades must be on the authorized list of upgrades provided by Microsoft. Please note, subscription
downgrades are NOT supported.
