Microsoft Removes Teams from 365
This spring Microsoft "gave in" to the EU and other governmental regulators and began unbundling Microsoft Teams from Windows 11 and Microsoft 365 plans. For some this will result in savings; for others, extra cost. In general, adding Teams on to subscription plans without Teams will cost notably more than the original bundles, adding $4.80 per month or $48 per year, per person.
For now, most businesses can opt to either purchase Microsoft 365 plan levels with Teams, or without Teams. Weirdly, the discount is not a constant dollar amount or percentage across their subscription plans. It ranges from about 10% to 18% less without Teams. So firms that do not use Teams should consider removing it. Larger firms that might use Teams may want to actually purchase one license with Teams, to have that option in hand, later.
New Enterprise (E3 or E5) subscriptions are only available without Teams, which now needs to be added on.
Nonprofits do not yet have the choice of omitting Teams. However, their cost is so low it is almost immaterial. Nonprofits are just now converting to Microsoft's New Commerce Experience pricing, two years after all other accounts, so may just be behind for a while.
Microsoft will allow existing subscriptions that include Teams to continue on, at least for now. However, keep in mind that organizations can mix and match licenses, giving only some employees Teams, or licensing some employees for Office software but others only for email and OneDrive. Keep in mind monthly or annual licensing periods are per subscription plan/license, not per company. ITS can help manage 365 licensing.
August 2024
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