Changes to Microsoft’s Pricing Model Impact Businesses, Including Norway
Starting this Saturday, Microsoft will implement a new pricing model for its popular cloud-based software, encompassing tools like Teams, Office, and Outlook. This change means that large enterprises and agencies will no longer benefit from volume discounts.
As of November 1, the tech giant will eliminate standard discounts based on the number of user licenses. Whether a business has ten users or ten thousand, the price per license will remain the same.
Public Sector to Feel the Impact
This pricing shift will take effect when current agreements with Microsoft expire, which, for some, could mean years before the full brunt of the change is felt.
“The change is expected to hit larger companies particularly hard, especially in the public sector, which has previously enjoyed generous volume discounts,” says Stig Carlsen, managing director of Crayon Norway, in remarks to Digi.
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Higher Costs Loom for Nav
Nav, one of Norway’s largest employers, is set to face a substantial increase in its Microsoft expenses when its agreement lapses in October 2027.
– Currently, our yearly costs for office support tools from Microsoft—such as Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—total around NOK 130 million, notes Vegard Storstad, acting technology director, in an email to Digi. He also emphasizes that this looming price hike underscores the urgency to explore alternative solutions. However, switching is complex.
“Given the reliance on and training in Microsoft’s software, transitioning to a new system would not only be time-consuming but also costly,” he adds.
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