New changes to Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Microsoft Teams licensing

As of 1 April, 2024, Microsoft has updated its licensing structure for Microsoft 365, Office 365 and Microsoft Teams. It has introduced Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites that don’t include Teams, in addition to a new standalone Teams offering. 

Microsoft has released a new lineup of Microsoft 365, Office 365 and Microsoft Teams SKUs worldwide to offer the option to purchase a Microsoft Teams licencse outside of Microsoft 365 or Office 365. This lineup includes new suites, which share the name of the previous suites (e.g. Microsoft 365 E3/E5 etc.), but with “(no Teams)” to identify them. There is also a new standalone Teams SKU for enterprise: Microsoft Teams Enterprise. 

Microsoft’s new Teams licensing for Enterprise suites 

These changes will apply to net new customers, who have yet to purchase a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription, meaning that new subscribers will no longer be able to purchase Enterprise suites that include Teams from 1 July, 2024. Instead, they will need to purchase two SKUs: Microsoft Teams Enterprise, and either the Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suite. 

Existing Microsoft 365 and Office 365 customers can continue to use the SKU to which they’ve already subscribed and can also upgrade and add licences to their current plans. Alternatively, they may switch to one of the new suites without Teams on their contract anniversary or renewal. 

Microsoft’s new Teams licensing for Business and Frontline suites 

Current Microsoft 365 Business and Frontline suites with Teams included will coexist with the new lineup of no Teams suites, enabling customers to choose between plans with Teams included, or the new versions without Teams. 

Microsoft initially made these changes to the way Microsoft Teams is licensed in 2023, for regions in the EEA and Switzerland in response to concerns raised with the European commission. These are now being rolled out worldwide in the interest of reducing confusion and streamlining decision making. 

If you have any questions about how the new Microsoft Teams licensing model works, or any other Microsoft or Office 365 queries, get in touch.