Monthly Microsoft License Update January 2024
Welcome to the January 2024 instalment of the Microsoft Product Terms Update from the Version 1 Microsoft License Consulting Team. Each month, Microsoft releases license changes on their product terms — this month sees a variety of updates to both product terms and supporting license briefs.
GitHub Offerings — Updated GitHub Product Terms to align with Generative AI updates. Updates to EA/EAS and MCA Availability tables to reflect new license availability. New to GitHub, some offerings have been made available to MCA customers for the first time. Interestingly, some of the MCA GitHub offerings (GitHub Actions, Advanced Security & GitHub Packages) have a license pre-requisite for GitHub Enterprise User SL, which is not (yet?) MCA available. Hopefully this issue will be resolved in the months to come.
Microsoft 365 — Added Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 to EES Availability table.
· Microsoft announced on December 14, 2023, its expansion of CoPilot access in education.
· Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection will be available to all faculty and higher education students ages eighteen and above. And Copilot for Microsoft 365 eligibility will now include education faculty and staff.
· Microsoft EES refers to the Enrolment for Education Solutions
· The prerequisites for getting Microsoft CoPilot for EES is Microsoft 365 A3/A5/E3 and E5
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Services — Added Dynamics 365 Field Service Contractor User SL to EAEAS and MCA Availability tables and added Service Specific Terms. Added Dynamics 365 Finance Premium (User SL) to EES, EAES, MCA, and MPSA Availability tables, License Prerequisites table, and Purchasing Minimums — All Programs table.
- With regards to the Service Specific Terms for Dynamics 365 Field Service Contractor User SL — there are specifications on who can use the product. These are vendors or contractors engaged by the enrolled affiliates enterprise that have been assigned a Microsoft Entra ID.
- For Dynamics 365 Finance Premium — I would like to draw attention to the purchase minimums. My reading of this is that Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Finance premium can be combined to reach the required minimum of twenty, rather than individually.
Microsoft Azure — Removed all references to Azure Information Protection Premium Plan 1.
From April 2024 it will no longer be a chargeable license product, but the functionality will continue.
AIP Premium P1 has been part of Enterprise Mobility & Security Suite and M365 plans and a standalone paid-for SKU for a number of years is a classification tool for labelling data files for protection.
It has been increasingly embedded within Office file capabilities and is therefore no longer deemed suitable for charging as a separate chargeable license.
Microsoft Defender
· Added Microsoft Defender for Identity Frontline, as well as license assignment eligibility and additional terms. Defender for Identity and Entra ID Frontline Worker licenses may only be assigned to users who satisfy one or more of the following conditions:
- Uses a primary work device with a single screen smaller than 10.9”.
- Shares their primary work device with other qualifying Defender for Identity or Entra ID Frontline Worker licensed users, during or across shifts.
- Other licensed Frontline Worker users must also use the device as their primary work device.
- Any software or services accessed from the shared device requires the device or users to be assigned a license that includes use of those software or services.
Qualifying Frontline Worker licenses for Defender for Identity and Entra ID include Microsoft Defender for Identity F1 and Microsoft Entra ID F2, respectively.
Added Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Frontline, Defender for Endpoint Frontline and Defender for Cloud Apps Frontline to the Availability Tables as well as license assignment eligibility and additional terms.
Universal Terms for Online Services — Updated Competitive Benchmarking language and Microsoft Generative AI Services Customer Copyright Commitment for clarity. Within the language for competitive benchmarking, Microsoft have broadened the term to include both products & services. Customers are advised that they are obligated to provide Microsoft with all information required to replicate benchmarking. If a customer fails to provide this then they are not allowed to use the online service. Regarding Microsoft’s Generative AI Services Customer Copyright Commitment, there is an obligation by Microsoft, to defend customers against third-party intellectual property claims. This protection extends to the use or distribution of output content from a covered product. Beware this protection applies if specific conditions are met, as set out in the universal terms.
Privacy & Security Terms — Updated EU Data Boundary Services terms now reflect expanded scope of the commitment. The term “EU Data Boundary” means the Microsoft computers, computing environment, and physical data centers located solely in the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). This section not only details the Online Services to which this applies, but also the scenarios under which ‘use of EU Data Boundary Services may result in limited transfers of Customer Data or Personal Data outside the EU Data Boundary.’ The newly added scenario is as follows. ‘Service and Platform Quality and Management. When required to monitor and maintain service quality or to ensure accuracy of statistical measures of service use or performance, pseudonymized Personal Data may be transferred outside of the EU Data Boundary.’
Privacy & Security Terms — Added Microsoft Purview to Core Online Services. Updated Microsoft Defender XDR to reflect new branding. In the Core Online Services, Microsoft Purview has been added or has replaced security & compliance services known by previous names within the Microsoft 365 Compliance Services and Azure Core Services: it is more obvious in the Microsoft 365 Compliance section. Microsoft Defender XDR has been added to Core Online Service table — Defender XDR is the security services suite accessible via Microsoft Defender portal (if licensed by 365 Business Premium or E5 level suites or security components)
Glossary — Clarified definition of Output Content. — Output Content means any data, text, sound, video, image, code, or other content generated by a Microsoft Generative AI Service in
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.
