Seat-based offers now available in the CSP program

Microsoft continues to drive the transformation of the business experience of its partners through a multi-stage investment in the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program, aimed at accelerating partners’ business growth, reduce complexity and costs of licenses, and allow customers to choose how they prefer to purchase.

Following the announcement made in 2019 and the latest announcements to help partners migrate to the CSP program, there is news for this new business experience.

Beginning 1 September 2021, sandbox testing for the new commerce experience in the CSP program for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform, as well as Windows 365, will be enabled ahead of general availability for new commerce transactions of seat-based offers in January 2022 (available in Brazil in February 2022).

Take a closer look at the advantages and opportunities of this new commercial experience, as well as guides on how to migrate as early as possible.

Streamlining product subscriptions in the new commerce experience

Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform will be able to be sold by partners through the CSP program starting in October, offering customers a consistent and simplified purchasing experience. Microsoft will offer three-year term options for Dynamics 365 (now available in CSP) and Microsoft 365 (available March 20222). Additional offers will be announced as they become available.

The option to secure favorable pricing with long-term commitments will also be available, considering the recently announced price changes for Microsoft 365. The new commerce experience for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform will include new monthly term offers that allow cancellation and seat-count changes in any month.

Windows 365, the world’s first cloud PC, will be available in the new commerce experience for the enterprise purchasing motion starting in September 2021, and in the CSP program beginning in January 2022. In the new commerce experience, it will be available through a month-to-month subscription, with no long-term commitment and the ability to adjust seat counts in any month with per-user pricing.

Keep in mind that new subscription orders, offers, and renewals for seat-based offers in the CSP program will be exclusive to the new commerce experience beginning in March 2022—so it’s critical to plan accordingly.

Move to new commerce early and save

To help partners transition customers to the new commerce experience, we will have two introductory promotions between January 1st, 2022, and July 31, 2022, for direct bill and indirect provider partners transacting in the CSP program.

Partners can see which promotions they’re eligible for on the promotions page in Partner Center, and the introductory promotions for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform will be added in October to the Global Promo Readiness guides available on the partner website. More information on using promotions to attract new customers is available here

Also, starting October 1, 2021, we will be launching incentives for new commerce transactions in the CSP for direct bill partners, indirect providers, and indirect resellers.

How partners can get involved

To help partners prepare for the October launch of seat-based offers in the new commerce experience for the CSP program, starting in September, Microsoft is enabling sandbox tenants with which partners can integrate APIs and make test transactions in new commerce.

If your organization doesn’t have a sandbox environment set up, review and follow the steps to create one.
Review the resources outlined in the Readiness Map in the OPS Readiness Collection.
Review the API documentation in the OPS Readiness Collection for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platforms, and Windows 365 in the new commerce experience in CSP.
Check the list of Q&A events available monthly here.
Participate in our special sessions for partners:

Register to the event - November 17 - 12PM EST - In Spanish

Register to the event - November 18 - 12PM EST - In English