Microsoft’s New Commerce Experience (NCE) subscription model will be implemented in March 2022. This new model brings a price increase to commercial and business users of Microsoft’s software as a service (SaaS) offerings. Beginning in March, new orders will have to go through the new pricing model (below), and as of July 1, 2022 renewals will be committed to the new model subscription.
Microsoft’s increase will go into effect as of March 1, 2022 for these plans:
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic (from $5 to $6 per user)
  • Microsoft 365 Business Premium (from $20 to $22)
  • Office 365 E1 (from $8 to $10)
  • Office 365 E3 (from $20 to $23)
  • Office 365 E5 (from $35 to $38)
  • Microsoft 365 E3 (from $32 to $36)
Prepare to Pay a Premium for Flexibility
If you don’t want to commit, prepare to pay a premium for flexibility. The NCE pricing includes all cloud products for O365, M365, D365, and Power Platform. Although you can continue month-to-month payments for these products, a 20% increase will be incurred in July 2022. This premium is on top of the price increase for the six O365 and M365 plans mentioned above.
Benefits of committing to annual contract:
  • You are not subject to the 20% price increase.
  • You still have the option of paying off the commitment monthly for the yearly commitment.
  • If you commit to NCE before March 1, 2022, you are not subject to the price increase for the six O365 and M365 plans detailed above.
  • The price for the products during the term of the commitment is locked in. You can increase license counts at any time, but you cannot reduce license counts until the term is up for renewal. You can upgrade products in the committed plan at any time.

How will you be affected by this increase?  Now is a great time to audit current systems and see how a longer-term contract will benefit your organization.  If you have any questions or need assistance regarding this service change, please contact a member of the BMT team.