Article Cloud Care Update: October 2025

Cloud Care Update

October 2025

By / 1 Oct 2025

Microsoft News & Updates:

1: Resolved: Azure Front Door - Connectivity issues across multiple regions:

Between 15:45 UTC on October 29, 2025, and 00:05 UTC on October 30, 2025, customers and Microsoft services utilizing Azure Front Door (AFD) may have experienced intermittent connectivity issues, including increased latency, timeouts, and service errors.

During this period, we observed provisioning failures within our Cloud Commerce Platform (CCx).

Following confirmation from Microsoft that AFD services had returned to normal operation, we successfully processed all previously failed orders impacted by the outage.

2: Upcoming Change to Subscription Grace Period – Effective April 1, 2026:

Starting April 1, 2026, Microsoft will discontinue the free grace period for accessing services on non-renewed subscriptions. This takes effect for license-based services (M365, O365,…) purchased on or after April 1, 2025, and expiring on or after April 1, 2026, with auto-renew off.

Customers who do not renew their subscriptions must either:

Cancel at the end of the term, resulting in immediate loss of access (Data for cancelled subscriptions will be retained for 90 days after cancellation date).
Enter a paid Extended Service Term (EST) to continue service.

License-based services purchased on or after April 1, 2025, and expiring on or after April 1, 2026, with auto-renew off, will automatically transition to the Extended Service Term upon expiration.
The cancellation option will be available from January 19, 2026.

Extended Service Term (EST) details:

Billed monthly at the current monthly rate plus a 3% uplift.
If no monthly plan exists, a 23% uplift will apply.
Subscriptions in Extended Service Term can be canceled or converted to a standard subscription at any time.
Charges will apply only for the days used, billed monthly on a prorated basis.

If your subscription is in Extended Service Term, you have the following options:

Stay in Extended Service Term: Customers can keep the subscription in extended service term indefinitely.
Services will continue and be billed monthly at the current monthly price plus a 3% uplift (or 23% if no monthly plan exists).
Cancel immediately: Cancel extended service term subscriptions at any time and receive a prorated refund credit based upon the remaining billing period.
Convert to a standard subscription: Customers can choose to convert their Extended Service Term subscription to a standard subscription at any time.

Subscription Eligibility:

Applies to license-based services purchased on or after April 1, 2025, and expiring on or after April 1, 2026, with auto-renew turned off.
Subscriptions purchased before April 1, 2025 are not impacted by this change.

No Immediate Action Required:

Currently, no action is needed. The cancellation option will become available starting January 19, 2026.

Insight is currently reviewing these changes and will follow up shortly with clear guidance and recommendations to support your next steps.

3: Microsoft Customer Agreement Renewal Required:

Due to a Microsoft system bug that prevented the acceptance date of the Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) from updating correctly, some clients may not have a current MCA on file (dated after 2024).

Effective October 7, 2025, clients without a valid MCA acceptance will be unable to:

Purchase new licenses
Modify existing subscriptions

To avoid service disruptions, clients can manually renew their MCA acceptance via the Microsoft Admin Center. Insight is actively working on an automated solution to streamline this process.

In the meantime, we want to ensure that no client experiences a denial of service on our Cloud Commerce platform - CCx at https://buy.insight.com, due to this issue.

Detailed Instructions for our clients:

Log into the Microsoft Admin Center at https://admin.microsoft.com with Global Admin credentials
Navigate to the Billing Accounts Page
- In the left-hand navigation pane, select Billing.
- Then click on Billing accounts.
View Billing Accounts
- You’ll see a list of billing accounts associated with your organization.
- Select the billing account you want to review.
Access Billing Account Details
- Click into the billing account to open its details.
  Look for the Agreement section.
View the Microsoft Customer Agreement
- In the agreement section, click the link to view the MCA and any supplemental terms.
- If the agreement hasn’t been accepted yet, you’ll see a checkbox to agree to the terms.

Alternatively, clients can go directly to their agreement page using this link here

4: Microsoft renaming its Microsoft 365 E5 mini-suites:

Effective October 1, 2025, Microsoft will be renaming its Microsoft 365 E5 mini-suites as follows:

Microsoft 365 E5 Security will become Microsoft Defender Suite
Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance will become Microsoft Purview Suite

Please note that these updated suite names have not yet been reflected in Microsoft’s official price list.
Until further notice, continue using the existing names Microsoft 365 E5 Security and Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance for all pricing and procurement purposes.

More information can be found here

5: The return of Microsoft Teams into the Office 365 & Microsoft 365 bundles:

Microsoft Announces Licensing and Pricing Changes Following Agreement with European Commission:

Microsoft has finalized an agreement with the European Commission, referred to as Microsoft’s “Commitments” to expand interoperability and data portability resources. As part of this agreement, Microsoft will implement additional changes to the licensing and pricing of Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Microsoft Teams. These updates aim to enhance flexibility, support open ecosystems, and provide customers with more options tailored to their needs.

To align with the Commitments while continuing to prioritize customer needs, Microsoft is introducing several changes to its licensing and pricing structure.

These changes will take effect globally on November 1, 2025

Key Updates:

Expanded Suite Options:
New customers worldwide will once again be able to purchase Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Enterprise suites that include Teams. This reintroduction ensures maximum flexibility, allowing customers to choose from the full lineup of suites—with or without Teams—either standalone or integrated with other collaboration solutions.
Pricing Adjustments:
In accordance with the Commitments, Microsoft will establish specific price differentials (“price deltas”) between suites that include Teams and those that do not. Additionally, standalone Teams pricing will be maintained at or above the required delta for each customer segment.

Key Takeaways:

Customers currently using Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suites without Teams can transition to equivalent or higher-tier suites that include Teams, either midterm or at renewal.
Customers currently using Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suites with Teams will be able to switch to equivalent suites without Teams at renewal.

Contact your local Insight account manager if you have further questions.

More information can be found in the Microsoft 365 Blog here

6: SPLA Product & Price Updates:

Effective January 1, 2026, prices for the following products purchased through the SPLA channel will increase by the percentage indicated below (adjusted for rounding and subsequent fx adjustments, if any).

Exchange Server +10%
SharePoint Server +10%
Skype for Business Server +10%
Dynamics GP, NAV, and SL* +10% (*) Excluding “Limited Users”, “Self-Serve Users”, “Processor Customization”, “Extended HR”, “Light Users”, and SL “Essential Users”.

Office Servers Update:

While Microsoft 365 remains the top choice for performance, scalability, and security, they recognize the continued need for on-premises solutions in specific environments. To support these customers, Microsoft is implementing licensing and pricing updates for Office server products.

In July 2025, Microsoft released Exchange Server SE and Skype for Business Server SE, the first new versions since 2019. To support ongoing maintenance and updates, prices for SharePoint Server, Exchange Server, and Skype for Business Server increased by 10% across most commercial channels in July 2025.

These changes will extend to the SPLA channel starting January 1, 2026, subject to rounding and FX adjustments.

Resources:

Dynamics Licensing Update:

License fees for full users of Dynamics 365 Business Central and on-premises subscriptions (including Dynamics GP and NAV) will increase in Q4 2025. To align pricing across channels, SPLA prices for equivalent SKUs will rise by 10% starting January 1, 2026, subject to rounding and FX adjustments.
Dynamics AX SPLA pricing remains unchanged, except for FX adjustments.

7: New Microsoft 365 Copilot – Getting Started CSP Promotion:

More information on promotions can be found in our New Commerce Experience (NCE) promotions section here

Insight's Cloud Commerce Platform – Improvements and Developments:

Cloud Commerce Platform - CCx on https://buy.insight.com - October 04, 2025:

1: Invoices will move to CCR:

To enhance the client experience and provide invoices and invoice reporting on the same platform, invoices will be moved to our Cloud Consumption Reporting platform.

October 2025 invoices will still be visible in both platforms, Cloud Commerce Experience (CCx) and CCR, but removed from CCx with the November 2025 release on November 01, 2025.

A banner message within CCx will remind you about the upcoming change.

2: Monthly Saved Cart Reset Notification:

To enhance transparency and minimize pricing inconsistencies, we are implementing a new UI/UX notification that informs customers their saved carts will be automatically cleared at the end of each calendar month.

This proactive messaging helps ensure customers are aware of upcoming cart resets, encouraging timely purchases and reducing the risk of price changes impacting their shopping experience.

3: EMEA Cloud Care Contact Update:

To improve the customer experience across EMEA storefronts, we are introducing updates to the “Contact Us” section that include a direct link to this EMEA Cloud Care Update site.

In addition, one of the existing content tiles will be refreshed to redirect users to the same Cloud Care Update page, further streamlining access to key information.

These enhancements are designed to increase visibility and ease of access to cloud care resources, helping EMEA customers stay informed and supported with region-specific updates.

4: Removal of NCE Logo:

As part of Phase 3 of our UI/UX enhancements, the NCE logo will be removed from the storefront interface. This marks the completion of our planned branding transition and ensures the storefront aligns with current visual standards.

The update delivers a cleaner, more consistent experience for customers, fully reflecting our latest design guidelines.

5: Drift Chat Enhancements: Streamlined Access to Subscription and Order Data:

We’re introducing enhancements to improve how our system integrates with Drift, enabling users to access timely and relevant subscription and order information directly within the chat experience.

Key updates include:

Improved Data Visibility: Drift will receive a SoldTo identifier via dedicated endpoints, allowing it to display the 10 most recent Microsoft subscriptions and 10 most recent orders associated with the account.
Enriched Payloads: Data sent to Drift will include additional attributes to enhance the accuracy and detail of the information presented.
Real-Time Validation: New endpoints will enable Drift to retrieve subscription details using a Subscription ID and order information using an Order ID, including real-time order status.
Secure Access Controls: To protect user privacy, access to subscription and order data will be restricted to the logged-in user’s associated SoldTo account.

These enhancements are designed to deliver a more personalized and efficient support experience, helping users quickly access the information they need.

6: Adobe Advance Renewal Preferences: Enhanced Visibility and Flexibility:

Customers can now view Adobe-validated quantities, pricing, and entitlement levels for their upcoming renewals directly on the Manage Renewal page, regardless of whether a renewal has already been scheduled.

Starting 30 days prior to their renewal or anniversary date, users will be able to:

Initiate the renewal process with greater confidence
Explore new products using a SOLR-powered search experience
Add items to a dedicated “New Products” renewal list for streamlined management.

These enhancements provide greater transparency and control, helping customers make informed decisions and optimize their renewal journey.

Cloud Consumption Reporting - CCR on https://ccr.insight.com - September 29, 2025:

1: Multi Cloud Invoice Reporting within CCR:

We’re thrilled to announce the successful launch of multi-cloud client-facing reporting in our Cloud Commerce Reporting platform (CCR), a major milestone in our digital transformation journey!

This enhanced reporting experience empowers our clients with interactive dashboards, customizable views, and drill-down capabilities across AWS, Adobe, and Microsoft platforms.

Invoices will now be visible and ready to download within the Insight Invoices tab within CCR. To access CCR use the direct link within CCx (single sign-on enabled), or visit CCR at https://ccr.insight.com.

With this launch, CCR now offers our cloud clients the following insights:

A single, secure data source
SoldTo-level visibility and subscription insights across cloud vendors for AWS, Adobe and Microsoft
User-level widgets and custom toggles for vendor-specific data
Seamless integration with CCx at https://buy.insight.com and Insight.com for a unified experience

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