Microsoft CSP Partner Program Updates - Late January & Early February 2025
Critical Deadlines and Actions
- January 31, 2025: Retirement of Power BI Premium (P-SKUs)
- February 1, 2025: End of NCE License Change Indicator Beta
- February 3, 2025: Enforcement of MFA for Microsoft 365 admin center
- February 10, 2025: Replacement of D-U-N-S with Moody's for customer lookup
- February 17, 2025: Deadline for Apps & Games Partners to provide company account information for EU markets
- March 10, 2025: End-Of-Sale scheduling for billing changes in UI and API
- April 1, 2025: Pricing update for Microsoft Teams Phone and Power BI
- April 21, 2025: Updated timeline: Deadline to migrate to new Asynchronous Billing Reconciliation APIs
What are the key updates for Microsoft partners?
Power BI Premium (P-SKUs) retired on January 31, 2025, to consolidate purchase options and enhance offerings. They are being replaced by Microsoft Fabric SKUs (F-SKUs), which provide a unified, AI-powered data platform.
Microsoft is offering a 50% discount on Microsoft E5 Compliance for all customers with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses from February 1, 2025, to February 1, 2026.
Apps & Games partners with company accounts need to provide business verification and customer support contact information by February 17, 2025 to comply with the European Union's Digital Services Act. Failure to do so will result in their products being removed from European Union markets.
The Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Billing Reconciliation APIs are being updated to asynchronous APIs (v2), with a deadline of April 21, 2025. Partners are required to migrate to these new APIs to avoid disruptions in accessing billing data.
The beta period for NCE license-based change indicators and end-of-sale price lists ends on February 1, 2025, and the "New Commerce - Beta" tag will be removed from price lists. Additionally, the standard current month NCE license-based price list will include the Change indicator column for downloads via the Partner Center Portal and API.
- Starting February 10, 2025, D-U-N-S (Data Universal Numbering System) suggestions for customer account lookup will be replaced with Moody's data in the Referrals workspace during the deal creation process. This change impacts both the UI and bulk upload methods.
- Copilot in Microsoft 365 admin centers uses AI to boost productivity for admins by streamlining daily tasks, offering real-time information, and accelerating decision-making. It also helps admins to understand licensed Microsoft 365 features, helping them get more out of Microsoft 365.
- The Partner Center AI assistant (preview) is enabled in the Payments summary and the Earnings summary sections within the Partner Center Earnings workspace. It offers capabilities like viewing earning details for specific payments, and viewing earning trends.
- Two of the security updates available include: Microsoft Security Copilot for Admin On Behalf Of (AOBO), and the enforcement of Multifactor authentication (MFA) for all users signing into Azure portal and, coming soon, the Microsoft 365 admin center portal.
- One new benefit is the introduction of more than 20 in-demand product licenses including Microsoft 365 Copilot products, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, and GitHub Enterprise, available through partner benefit packages and program designations.
What is changing with the New Commerce Experience (NCE) license-based price lists, and how does it affect partners?
The beta period for the NCE license-based change indicator and end-of-sale price lists concluded on February 1, 2025. Partners downloading the NCE license-based price list through the Partner Center portal will now see the 'Change indicator' column in the standard monthly list and the "New Commerce - Beta" tag will no longer be visible. The Pricing View of license based beta will be deprecated for partners using the API.
The end-of-sale price list is generally available and downloadable through the portal. An API download method is being evaluated. These changes will affect all Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners (both indirect providers and direct bill).
What is the transition from Power BI Premium to Microsoft Fabric, and how does it affect customers?
Microsoft is retiring Power BI Premium per capacity SKUs (P-SKUs) on January 31, 2025, replacing them with Microsoft Fabric SKUs (F-SKUs). This transition impacts all P-SKUs for Enterprise Agreement (EA), Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), and all customers with Power BI Premium renewals after January 31, 2025.
Microsoft Fabric is an AI-powered analytics platform that combines data analytics, data science, and data lakes, delivered as a SaaS offering. Customers need to plan this transition with their partners to ensure a smooth experience and explore the provided resources for a seamless migration.
How can partners use Copilot in Microsoft 365 admin centers, and what benefits does it provide?
Copilot in Microsoft 365 admin centers is now generally available and accessible through the Copilot button in the upper right corner of the screen for tenants with at least one Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Copilot leverages generative AI to streamline administrative tasks, optimize workflows, and provide faster access to data insights.
Copilot respects role-based access controls (RBAC) and is designed to enhance productivity and decision-making. A prebuilt admin agent is also being rolled out, allowing admins to utilize these capabilities from Business Chat, without needing to be in an admin center. Admin accounts don't require an assigned Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
What new capabilities are available with the Partner Center AI Assistant in the Earnings workspace, and how do they improve productivity?
The Partner Center AI Assistant (preview) is enabled for Anywhere scenarios in the Earnings workspace, enhancing user productivity and reconciliation. Users can select payment in the Payments summary and use the AI Assistant to view earning details.
In the Earnings summary, users can view earning trends by program, engagement, or customer. Partners can also see detailed breakdowns by program and lever, solution area, engagement, or product and workload.
This functionality helps users quickly analyze earnings data. This feature is currently available in preview to partners using the English version of Partner Center.
What is changing with the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) billing APIs and when do partners need to migrate?
Microsoft is migrating to new Asynchronous APIs for billing reconciliation in Partner Center. The old APIs will no longer function from the April 2025 billing period onwards. Partners need to migrate to these new APIs by April 21, 2025, to ensure uninterrupted service and access to their billing data.
The new APIs improve data retrieval efficiency, especially for large volumes of data. The affected APIs are related to retrieving invoice line items, billing reconciliation, and commercial consumption data. These updates currently only apply to the global/public cloud environment.
What is the End-of-Sale (EOS) scheduling for billing changes, and what pricing updates are coming for Teams Phone and Power BI?
Beginning March 10, 2025, customers on EOS and EOS with Conversion offers can schedule billing frequency changes for their annual or triennial subscriptions at renewal. This allows changes to be scheduled ahead of the April 1, 2025, price standardization date when all new and renewing monthly billing plans will be priced 5% higher than annual billing plans for annual subscriptions.
This will impact plans for Microsoft Teams Phone and Power BI, among other products. The EOS offers in scope include Microsoft 365 E3/E5 and Office 365 E1/E3/E5 suites with Teams. Partners must manage these renewals by enabling auto-renew and scheduling changes, as purchasing and term edits are no longer possible for EOS SKUs.
What security updates are being implemented, and how do they affect partners?
Several security updates are being implemented including, the availability of Microsoft Security Copilot for Admin On Behalf Of (AOBO), removal of unused Azure subscriptions, enforcement of Multifactor Authentication (MFA) for the Microsoft Entra portal (already enforced) and soon for the Microsoft 365 admin center starting February 3, 2025, deprecation of graph.windows.net audience tokens, and a Security Requirements API in Beta.
Partners should note the removal of unused Azure subscriptions after 12 months of inactivity and must enforce MFA and adopt the new API standards to ensure compliance and continued service. In addition, the Entra roles are being reduced between the API and the UI in the Partner Center.
What updates are being made to the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, and what new benefits are available?
The Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program is introducing SMB paths for Data & AI (Azure), Digital & App Innovation (Azure), and Infrastructure (Azure) in February 2025. Business Applications specializations will have updated performance and skilling requirements in early February 2025 to encourage more partners to enroll in the programs.
Additionally, Microsoft is introducing more than 20 in-demand product licenses such as Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint which will be accessible through partner benefit packages, Solutions Partner designations, or specializations. Microsoft is also subsidizing third-party auditor assessments for partners to gain qualification for designations. These updates aim to enhance partner capabilities and drive business growth.
Details and Key Actions
A. Licensing and Pricing:
- NCE License Change Indicator: The beta for the NCE license-based change indicator ends February 1, 2025. The change indicator column will now be standard in NCE price lists and the beta API endpoint will be deprecated. Partners must adjust to this change when retrieving price lists.
- Power BI Premium to Microsoft Fabric: Power BI Premium (P-SKUs) is being retired on January 31, 2025, and customers are required to transition to Microsoft Fabric (F-SKUs). Resources are available to assist with the transition, including migration guides and a Fabric Partner Community. All customers with renewals after January 31st, 2025, are affected.
- Billing Frequency Changes: Starting March 10, 2025, customers on EOS and EOS with Conversion offers can schedule changes to billing frequency for their annual or triennial term subscriptions at renewal. Starting April 1, 2025, new and renewing monthly billing plans for annual subscriptions will be priced 5% higher than annual billing plans.
- Microsoft E5 Compliance Discount: A 50% discount on Microsoft E5 Compliance is available from February 1, 2025 to February 1, 2026, for all customers with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.
- Promotional Offers: Various promotions are being offered including 15% off for Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft 365 E5, and Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Partners should review the Global Promo Readiness Guide for details.
B. AI and Productivity Tools
- Copilot in Microsoft 365 Admin Centers: Generally available at the end of January 2025, Copilot helps admins streamline tasks, generate insights, and maximize the value of their Microsoft 365 investment. It respects role-based access controls. Rollout will continue until the end of March.
- Partner Center AI Assistant: Preview enabled in the Earnings workspace, offering enhanced reconciliation capabilities with functions for viewing payment details and earnings trends for programs and customers.
- AI Assistant for Pre-purchase: Partners can use an AI assistant to answer pre-purchase questions about offers within the Membership workspace.
C. Security and Compliance:
- MFA Enforcement: Microsoft is enforcing MFA for all users signing into the Azure portal, with MFA for the Microsoft 365 admin center beginning February 3, 2025. Partners need to review the latest information and timelines.
- Deprecation of graph.windows.net tokens: Partners need to prepare for the deprecation of graph.windows.net audience tokens for increased security measures and update their APIs interactions.
- Microsoft Security Copilot for AOBO: Available for Admin On Behalf Of (AOBO) on the Service Management page of the Customer workspace.
- Unused Azure Subscriptions: Unused Azure subscriptions (no activity or consumption for over 12 months) are being blocked and deleted after 90 days. Account owners are notified 30 days before the block.
- Security Requirements API: A new Security Requirements API is available in Beta for direct access to security compliance data.
D. Partner Program & Marketplace
- SMB Paths for Azure Designations: SMB paths for Solutions Partner designations in Data & AI (Azure), Digital & App Innovation (Azure), and Infrastructure (Azure) are launching in February 2025.
- Business Application Specialization Updates: Updates to Business Applications specializations (Sales, Service, Finance, Supply Chain) will be available in early February 2025, reducing performance and skilling requirements.
- New Partner Benefits: Over 20 new product licenses will be introduced on January 22, 2025, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, and GitHub Enterprise.
- ISVs in China: ISVs based in China can now sell globally through the Microsoft commercial marketplace.
- Company Account Information for EU Markets: Apps & Games partners must provide company account info by February 17, 2025, to maintain product listings in EU markets to comply with the Digital Services Act.
- D-U-N-S Retirement: Starting February 10, 2025, D-U-N-S is being replaced with Moody's for customer account lookup in the Referrals workspace.
E. API & Billing:
- Enhanced Billing Reconciliation APIs: The deadline to migrate to the new Asynchronous APIs for billing reconciliation has been extended to April 21, 2025. This change impacts APIs for invoice line items, invoiced consumption and unbilled consumption. Failure to migrate by this date will cause errors when accessing billing data for April 2025 billing periods and onwards.
F. Partner Enablement & Support
- Monthly Updates: Microsoft is publishing monthly views, including partner launch calendars, a bi-monthly CSP newsletter, and other resources.
- CSP Community Q&A: Monthly CSP community Q&A sessions provide opportunities to ask questions about program changes. Partners are encouraged to review published resources and attend these calls.
- Technical Training: Microsoft is offering dedicated CSP Technical Training sessions to answer partner queries.
Recommendations
- Review Documentation: Partners should thoroughly review all linked documentation to understand the details of each update and change.
- Communicate Internally: Share this information with relevant teams within your organization.
- Plan Transitions: Begin planning for transitions such as moving from Power BI Premium to Microsoft Fabric.
- Utilize Resources: Take advantage of the partner community calls, technical training, and support channels.
- Update APIs: Prioritize migrating to the new billing reconciliation APIs by the April 21, 2025, deadline.
- Check Security: Ensure compliance with MFA requirements for all users.
- Update Account Information: Verify all required account information is up-to-date to maintain services and listings in relevant markets.
