Why the increase?

Microsoft are introducing 1,100 new features coming in 2026, one of these “new capabilities” is Copilot almost everywhere. Microsoft has now embedded Copilot across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.

• Word and PowerPoint: Generate drafts, summarise documents and create presentations all with AI assistance in minutes.
  
• Excel: Get help with Formulas, create charts, and analyse data all with ease.
  
• Outlook: Draft emails, summarise long threads, manage your inbox. Need help softening your language or changing the tone of it. Copilot has you covered.
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic (Moving from 50GB to 100GB)
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard (Moving from 50GB to 100GB)
  • Microsoft 365 Business Premium (Moving from 50GB to 100GB)
    
• Teams: Copilot can transcribe meetings and convert them into actionable items and summaries instantly.
  
• SharePoint: Microsoft has not announced any increases in Storage for SharePoint (Tenant Base 1TB + 10GB per licensed user). What they have added is:
  
  URL Protection (Safe Links Lite): Plans like Business Basic and Business Standard will now include basic URL checking when users click links within Office files stored in SharePoint.

If you currently pay for “Exchange Online Plan 2” add-ons just to get 100GB mailboxes for certain users, you will likely be able to cancel those add-ons once this change takes effect, saving you money.

Source Microsoft https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/12/04/advancing-microsoft-365-new-capabilities-and-pricing-update/

Updated pricing

So far, Microsoft has only released the USD prices and no UK-specific pricing. The Following list price changes will go into effect on 1^st July 2026.

Source Microsoft https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/12/04/advancing-microsoft-365-new-capabilities-and-pricing-update/

UK pricing: UK customers should expect the same percentage increases. Microsoft has a “pricing hamonisation” policy. This policy means Microsoft reviews foreign exchange rates twice a year (Typically February and August/September) to reaglin with the USD.

Even if the GBP remains strong we will still see the prices increase. If the pound weakens Mid 2026 we could see a further rise in September. If the pound strengths we could see the price drop.

Charity and Not for Profit

On 1st of July 2025 started retiring the 10 Free Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses. Existing customers retained their licenses until their next renewal dates.

Microsft have shifting it’s “free” focus towards cloud-only solutions.

• The New “Free” Offer: Up to 300 free licenses of Microsoft 365 Business Basic. This includes web and mobile versions of apps (Word, Excel) and Teams, but it does not include the desktop-installed apps or the advanced security/device management (Intune) found in Business Premium.
  
• Discounted Premium: You can still get Business Premium, but it will no longer be free. Eligible charities will receive a 75% discount, making the cost roughly $5.50 (or ~£4.20) per user per month.

So, if you are a charity and keeping costs as low as possible you no longer enjoy free office licences but can get cheap, or you can remove the desktop versions of Office and work purely in the browser using the web version of Word, Excel, Outlook and teams.

What should our customers do?

• Contact the helpdesk and ask for a licence report, and remove any staff who are not needed. Identify unused and redundant licences.
• If you have any Exchange plan 2 used as a bolt-on to increase your mailbox size, then ask for these to be removed in July.
• Consider Annual pricing, buying your licenses upfront for the year will lock you in to pre-July pricing for 12 months. It will reduce your flexibility to reduce your licence counts and change your cash flow.

The post Microsoft 365 enhancements and global price increases appeared first on Mear Technology.

What, Who, And How? 

Microsoft has announced that starting in November, Office.com (the Office mobile app and the Office app for Windows) will all become part of the re-branded Microsoft 365 app. These changes will apply to everyone who uses the Office app for work, school, or personal use. Office 365 subscriptions were first re-branded as Microsoft 365 two years ago. 

The tech giant has stressed that the re-branding will have no impact on existing users’ accounts, profiles, subscriptions, or files. There will also be no changes to existing Microsoft 365 subscription plans. The only noticeable change will be that the app will update automatically with a new icon and name. 

Going, But Not Completely 

Microsoft has stressed, however, that Office is still not going away entirely because, as part of Microsoft 365, users will still have access to apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Microsoft will also continue to offer one-time purchases of those apps to consumers and businesses via Office 2021 and Office LTSC plans. 

When? 

The first changes in the re-branding will begin rolling out for Office.com in November 2022, and changes will begin rolling out for the Office app on Windows and the Office mobile app in January 2023. 

Microsoft 365 App 

The re-branding emphasises the moving of all the Microsoft apps into one mobile and desktop Microsoft 365 app, which the company says will be the “starting point” for accessing Microsoft’s tools, content, and suite of apps going forward. For example, the Microsoft 365 App will incorporate My Content, relevant content based on who users work with and what they work on work on, a new apps module, and the Create module (including templates). It will also be home to Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Loop, Clipchamp, and Stream. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Existing work, school, and personal users will notice the logo change of the re-branding to Microsoft 365 in the coming months although their actual accounts, profiles, subscriptions, or files won’t be otherwise affected. The re-branding marks the next step in Microsoft shifting things into one consolidated app with Office 365 for SMEs and Office 365 ProPlus under the brand. This should simplify management and cement its position as one productivity cloud that meets the needs of many groups in one place. In terms of name changes, Office 365 Business and Office 365 ProPlus will be branded as Microsoft 365, Office 365 Business Essentials will be Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Office 365 Business Premium will be Microsoft 365 Business Standard, and Microsoft 365 Business will become Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

The post Re-Branding Means Microsoft Office Becomes Microsoft 365 appeared first on Mear Technology.