From 1 October 2026, Microsoft is making changes to the commercial terms available to Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners for selected Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscriptions.
If your organisation purchases Microsoft licences through a CSP provider, you may see changes to the pricing of certain subscriptions when purchasing new licences or at your next renewal.
Importantly, this is not a blanket Microsoft 365 price increase. The change affects the partner pricing and margin for a specific group of products, while Microsoft’s recommended retail price for these products remains unchanged as part of this particular adjustment.
Which Microsoft subscriptions are affected?
The change applies to the following product families:
- Office 365 E1
- Office 365 E3
- Exchange Online
- SharePoint Online
- OneDrive Extra Storage
- Microsoft 365 Apps for Business
- Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise
If your organisation currently uses one or more of these subscriptions, it is worth checking when they are due for renewal.
When does the change take effect?
The new commercial terms take effect from 1 October 2026.
They apply to:
- New affected subscriptions purchased from 1 October 2026
- Existing affected subscriptions when they renew on or after 1 October 2026
This means that an existing annual subscription does not necessarily change price immediately on 1 October.
For example, if your subscription is currently committed until March 2027, the relevant point will generally be its renewal in March rather than 1 October itself.
What should businesses do before their next Microsoft renewal?
The change does not mean you need to immediately replace your Microsoft licences.
Instead, it is a useful opportunity to review whether your existing subscriptions are still suitable.
1. Check your renewal dates
Start by identifying any Office 365 E1, Office 365 E3, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive Extra Storage, Microsoft 365 Apps for Business or Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise subscriptions approaching renewal.
Subscriptions renewing on or after 1 October 2026 are the ones to pay particular attention to.
2. Request your renewal pricing early
If your renewal is approaching, request an updated quotation rather than assuming your previous price will automatically continue.
This is particularly useful when preparing your IT budget for 2027.
3. Review whether you still need standalone licences
Microsoft licensing environments often evolve over several years.
You may have started with Exchange Online for email, added Microsoft 365 Apps separately, purchased additional storage, and introduced other Microsoft services later.
Before simply renewing everything, check whether the individual subscriptions still make sense for your organisation.
In some situations, consolidating services into a more suitable Microsoft 365 plan may be worth considering. In others, keeping the standalone plans may still be the better and more economical option.
4. Don’t choose a licence based only on price
A lower-priced subscription isn’t necessarily the right subscription.
When reviewing Microsoft licensing, businesses should also consider:
- Email requirements
- Office desktop applications
- Teams and collaboration
- SharePoint and OneDrive storage
- Identity and access management
- Device management
- Cybersecurity
- Data protection and compliance
A licensing change that saves a small amount but removes an important security or compliance capability may ultimately cost the business considerably more.
An example
Consider a company with 50 users currently using Office 365 E3.
If its subscription renews after 1 October 2026, the organisation should request an updated quotation from its CSP provider before renewal because Office 365 E3 is included among the affected product families.
But that doesn’t automatically mean the company should change licences.
The better question is:
“Does Office 365 E3 still provide the right combination of services for these 50 users?”
If it does, continuing with the existing subscription may be the right decision.
If the organisation’s requirements have changed, the renewal provides a natural opportunity to evaluate whether another Microsoft 365 plan would be a better fit.
The CSP communications covering this particular partner-margin adjustment identify the following seven product families: Office 365 E1, Office 365 E3, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive Extra Storage, Microsoft 365 Apps for Business and Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise.
It should therefore not be interpreted as a general 1 October price increase affecting every Microsoft 365 subscription.
There are also other Microsoft commercial changes taking effect around the same period, so organisations should check the specific products they own rather than assuming every Microsoft subscription is being treated the same way.
