Microsoft pushes back 365 price hikes due to 'high demand' for New Commerce Experience

Vendor will allow partners to use February pricing for transactions submitted until 14 March

Microsoft has pushed back planned price rises for 365 due to "high demand" to move over to its New Commerce Experience.

The price hikes, which were first announced in August, officially come into effect today but Microsoft has announced a "transitional grace period" until 14 March.

It means that all CSP new commerce transactions for the six commercial Modern Work SKUs - Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Office 365 E1, Office 365 E3, Office 365 E5 and Microsoft 365 E3 - can be invoiced at the February 2022 pricing.

All CSP new commerce transactions for these six Modern Work SKUs submitted after 5pm Pacific Daylight Time on 14 March will then be invoiced at the increased March price list pricing.

"The grace period provides partners with additional lead time for adapting business processes and placing orders for these six Modern Work products, and we anticipate Microsoft partners will not use this grace period to pull forward demand for these offers," the company said in a statement.

The pricing changes only impact its commercial products and are the largest from Microsoft since it launched Office 365 a decade ago.

Announcing the hikes last year, Microsoft said pricing for Microsoft 365 Business Basic will increase from $5 per user to $6 per user - a 20 per cent increase.

Microsoft 365 Premium pricing will increase from $20 to $22 per user (a 10 per cent increase).

Business packages including Office 365 E1, Office 365 E3, Office 365 E5 and Microsoft 365 E3 are also set for price increases by the March 2022 timeframe.

This includes a 25 per cent pricing increase for Office 365 E1 from $8 per user to $10 per user. Office 365 E3 will increase from $20 to $23 (a 15 per cent increase), Office 365 E5 from $35 to $38 (8.6 per cent) and Microsoft 365 E3 from $32 to $36 (12.5 per cent).