Millions worldwide rely on Microsoft for its vast range of software products and services. In an industry that never stops, Microsoft continues to innovate. Companies cannot rest on their laurels and must stay up to date. To help you stay informed, this blog highlights key developments and updates from Microsoft in play and upcoming in 2025.
Microsoft trade across the world but their home is the United States of America, meaning their primary currency is the US Dollar. Global market fluctuations and volatility means Microsoft conduct semi-annual reviews to their global prices in different currencies to ensure it’s worth the same when exchanged to the USD. These reviews do not always result in price changes for every currency, the latest review will impact commercial partners transacting in British Pound Sterling. The result is that prices for Microsoft’s commercial cloud services will change, with prices in pounds experiencing a 5-6% reduction, with on-premise software pricing being unaffected.
Since the inception of the New Commerce Experience (NCE) in 2022, there has been the ability to purchase on three different contractual terms, detailed below:
|
Term |
Commitment |
Payment |
Costs |
|
Annual - Annual |
12 months |
Annual upfront |
Base costs |
|
Annual - Monthly |
12 months |
Monthly instalments |
Base costs |
|
Monthly - Monthly |
Monthly rolling contract |
20% increase on base costs |
|
There has never been an incentive to pay annual upfront, as you could do 'Annual - Monthly' and pay the same, just split over 12 payments. However, that is changing in April 2025. 'Annual - Monthly' is going to be 5% more expensive than 'Annual - Annual', and there will be no change to 'Monthly – Monthly'. Please see updated table below:
|
Term |
Commitment |
Payment |
Costs |
|
Annual - Annual |
12 months |
Annual upfront |
Base costs |
|
Annual - Monthly |
12 months |
Monthly instalments |
5% increase on base costs |
|
Monthly - Monthly |
Monthly rolling contract |
20% increase on base costs |
|
These changes will come into effect from the renewal of your NCE contracts. At FluidOne, we're proud to be a Microsoft Partner and have in-house specialists that can guide you through your Microsoft licensing and the multiple different scenarios and solutions that can be achieved.
Microsoft ran a promotion at the end of 2024 that gave businesses a 15% discount on the annual cost of Microsoft 365 Copilot. This was scheduled to end on New Years Eve, but has been extended by three months to the 1st April 2025.
This discount is only available through Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners, such as FluidOne. We’ve worked very hard over the last 12 months to ensure we’re giving the right level of guidance and recommendations to our customer across all Copilot products, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio and others.
Discover how to 10x your output with Microsoft 365 Copilot with our webinar
Since Windows 11 became available in 2021 most Microsoft users have upgraded to the operating system, taking advantage of features like a new interface, live captions, and integrated passkeys. However, enough people remain using the Windows 10 operating system for this warning to be relevant: Windows 10 support will end on 14th October 2025.
This means that there are now more practical reasons to make the switch to Windows 11, aside from the upgraded features: technical assistance, security fixes, and free software updates from Windows Update will no longer be provided by Microsoft to Windows 10 users. The operating system will still work, but it will no longer be secure and not experience improvements. The fact that this will impact users practically overnight, rather than being a gradual change, makes this one of our Top Five IT Priorities for 2025.
In the last few years, it has become clear that AI is no longer an experimental fad and is very much here to stay. The ever-growing list of uses for the technology for both individuals and organisations has led to Microsoft introducing a dedicated Copilot key to Windows 11 PCs, enabling users to call upon AI assistance at the touch of a button. Considering that this is the first significant Windows PC keyboard change in nearly three decades, Microsoft are certainly confident that AI will become as integral to computer usage as being able to write words or control volume. This development began to take effect in 2024, but the products have only recently started to come to market, making it the perfect catalyst for a device refresh strategy.
Discover technical preparation for Microsoft 365 Copilot implementation with our webinar
Microsoft Fabric was first launched in 2023, designed to put all the functionality of Power BI and Microsoft data storage together to build an all-in-one data analytics solution. In Fabric, several Azure data workloads are consolidated with the business intelligence platform Power BI to create a platform that data movement, data science, data analytics, and more. Power BI users have been able to migrate to Fabric ever since its launch (though new customers have had to purchase Fabric since 1st July 2024) while keeping the option to remain solely on Power BI, but as of 1st January 2025 that has changed, impacting licence holders in different ways.
Existing customers without an Enterprise Agreement (EA) can now no longer renew their Power BI Premium capacity subscriptions, and once their renewal date has been reached, they will need to purchase Fabric capacity. Customers with an existing EA agreement, on the other hand, can keep renewing Power BI Premium annually until the end of their agreement, upon which they must transition to Fabric capacity. Customers on a sovereign cloud are not impacted as they currently do not have access to Fabric, with more information set to be available later.
Microsoft SQL Server is one of the world’s largest database management systems and it is set for an upgrade in 2025. The general availability release date for Microsoft SQL Server 2025 has yet to be announced, however, existing customers and partners are currently being onboarded onto its preview version.
This latest iteration of the almost four decades old software features improvements to security as well as an emphasis on built-in AI applications to improve performance. It will also continue to be linked to Azure to enable cloud capabilities, as well as featuring a new link to Microsoft Fabric for enhanced analytical capabilities.
Keeping on top of your software and hardware is crucial for successful business operations, but it can be hard to stay up to date with the latest information and action everything in good time.
At FluidOne, our status as a Microsoft CSP Partner means that we can get the best out of your Microsoft subscriptions, either working with our in-house Microsoft Specialists, our Microsoft accredited Account Managers, and taking advise from our technical delivery teams. From managing your licences to providing technical support, we are here help. To find out more about, why not try our free Microsoft 365 licence review, to see how you can get more from Microsoft 365.
Adam's expertise lies in empowering organisations by facilitating the effective adoption of scalable, cloud-ready Microsoft 365 technologies through advice, solutions, workshops, and services.