Digesting Recent ‘From SA (Software Assurance) SKU’s’ Changes
Microsoft’s February product terms include an important announcement with regards to ‘From SA SKUs.’ These changes take immediate effect as of the 1st of February for a variety of products, and the 1st of April for Dynamics. Microsoft appears to have made this announcement back in December 2023 which seems to have flown under the radar.
‘From SA SKUs’ where first introduced by Microsoft to all Enterprise Agreement ‘EA’ customers as far back as ten years ago. This is a specially designed SKU for online services that enabled customers to access a programmatic discount of up to 20% where they held associated on-premises licenses with active Software Assurance (SA).
Customers who opt for ‘From SA SKUs’ could subsequently detach SA from eligible on-premises licenses. Microsoft also provided a degree of flexibility allowing customers to reattach SA later. This level of flexibility fostered a mutually beneficial scenario for customers during the early days of Cloud adoption. Microsoft offered the choice to revert to on-premise solutions if online equivalents proved unsuitable. However, as history has demonstrated, the trend has overwhelmingly been towards migration to the Cloud, with customers largely avoiding a return to on-premise solutions. This shift is partly propelled by Microsoft’s increased investment in cloud-based offerings compared to on-premise software.
In Microsoft’s recent change in policy, we see a decrease in the availability of ‘From SA SKUs’. These changes won’t impact customers that hold existing ‘From SA SKUs’ as they can continue to renew them as normal. However, if you are a new customer or an existing ‘From SA’ customer then new purchases of ‘From SA’ subscriptions are no longer permitted as of the 1st of February 2024 — this will impact the following products:
· Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (From SA)
· Microsoft 365 E3/E5/G3/G5 (From SA)
· Microsoft Teams Phone Standard (From SA)
· Core CAL Suite Bridge for Office 365 (From SA)
· Enterprise CAL Bridge for Enterprise Mobility + Security (From SA) (User SL)
· Enterprise CAL Suite Bridge for Office 365 (From SA)
· Enterprise Mobility + Security E3/E5/G3/G5 (From SA)
· Office 365 E1/E3/E5/G1/G3/G5 (From SA)
· Windows 11 Enterprise E3/E5/G5 (From SA)
· Project Plan 1/3/5 (From SA)
· Visio Online Plan 1 and 2 (From SA)
Similarly, starting April 1st, 2024, it will no longer be possible to procure additional or new ‘From SA’ subscription licenses for Dynamics 365. The affected products include:
· Dynamics 365 Business Central Device (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Business Central Essentials (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Business Central Premium (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Business Central Team Members (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Commerce (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise Device (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Customer Service Professional (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Finance (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Field Services (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Human Resources (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Operations — Device (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Operations — Activity (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Project Operations (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise Device (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Sales Professional (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management (From SA)
· Dynamics 365 Team Members (From SA)
After the 1st of February and 1st of April, you may continue to renew any new ‘From SA’ purchased but you may not acquire additional SKUs.
In conclusion, the recent adjustments to ‘From SA SKUs’, as outlined in Microsoft’s February product terms, signify a notable shift in policy. Is this the beginning of further changes to this programmatic discount that provides customers with a material cost saving? Or perhaps it’s just the closing of a chapter as Microsoft reaches that critical mass of adoption of Microsoft 365 services they aspired to back in 2014?
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About the Author:
Karl is a Principal Licensing Consultant at Version 1, providing Microsoft license expertise to organisations globally and ensuring customers get the best value from their Microsoft assets.
