Microsoft’s New Commerce Experience for CSP update: What you need to know

As Microsoft continues to evolve the Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP) program, there are a few key updates Microsoft has recently announced about retiring legacy CSP subscription offers in favor of moving the subscriptions to New Commerce Experience (NCE) subscription offers.

Let’s first review NCE subscription terms

Subscription term options

Currently, legacy CSP offers a 12-month subscription term with the option to pay annually or monthly. Reviewing the NCE offering, there are 12-month and monthly subscription terms as follows:

• Monthly subscription term: This subscription option enables your organization to commit and pay on a monthly basis, thereby providing additional flexibility to address other needs.
• Annual subscription term: Consistent with the current legacy CSP offering, you can commit to a 12-month term which offers either an upfront or monthly billing option.

Premium pricing for monthly subscriptions

With the monthly subscription term, payment flexibility comes with a price. Microsoft charges a 20% premium above the annual subscription cost for monthly subscribers.

Enforced cancellation policy

NCE offers a 72-hour cancellation window for subscriptions added. If those subscriptions are not canceled within 72 hours of being provisioned, they must be paid for the remainder of the subscription term (monthly or annually).

Seat reduction policy change

Seat reduction requests must be submitted within the first 72 hours. This policy applies to the initial subscription count as well as additional seats added to that subscription.

Discover the updates coming soon

In 2024, Microsoft will take two important steps toward the retirement of the legacy CSP offers platform.

Starting November 2023, public sector offers for Education, Government Community Cloud (GCC), and Charity will be available in NCE for new and renewing customers.

Starting January 2024, Microsoft will begin automatic migration of all renewing commercial and public sector customers to NCE.

Stay on track with an up-to-date timeline

A few key components will stay the same

While this may seem like a lot of changes, you can expect the following to remain.

Product availability

The same products available on legacy CSP will also be available on NCE, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Power BI, M365 Apps for Enterprise, Office 365 plans, and Microsoft 365 plans to name a few.

Support

You will still enjoy the same level of support from our knowledgeable and dedicated Microsoft licensing team.

Think of SHI as your go-to Microsoft confidant. By working with our Microsoft experts, you benefit from a full range of in-house strategic services designed to support you in migrating, modernizing, optimizing, and managing your environment – so you see the full value of your Microsoft investment.

We know change is difficult, but it really is the only constant – and as always, SHI is here to help you navigate through these changes and make the transition as smooth and stress-free as possible.

To review your licensing portfolio or access expert advice, reach out to your dedicated SHI account executive or contact us directly.